State v. Dallas

Defendant denied that he intentionally shot deceased. The court charged the jury: “. . . (Y)ou may return one of three verdicts: a verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree, a verdict ■of guilty of manslaughter, or a verdict of not guilty on the grounds >of self-defense.” The charge as a whole limits the authority of the jury to return a verdict of not guilty to a finding of “not guilty by reason of self-defense.” At no time was the jury instructed that, if upon a fair and impartial consideration of the evidence they had a reasonable doubt of defendant’s guilt, it would be their duty…