Thomas H. Wynn v. William A. Mahoney, Brunswick Correctional Unit

WINTER, Circuit Judge:

The district court sustained the challenge of Thomas H. Wynn to the constitutional validity of the jury instructions under which he was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in a North Carolina state court and granted him a writ of habeas corpus. The district court ruled that the jury instructions improperly placed the burden of proving provocation and self-defense on Wynn, rather than on the state. Although we conclude that the charge to the jury on provocation did not entitle Wynn to habeas corpus relief since the instruction was not prejudicial, we affirm the issuance…