State of Louisiana v. Joseph Perkins

| j This writ concerns whether defendant, Joseph Perkins, is entitled to jury instructions on self-defense and justification for the charged offense of possession of a “shank” by a convicted felon, a violation of Louisiana Revised Statute 14:95.1, while he was incarcerated in Orleans Parish Prison.1 Prior to instructing the jury on the relevant law, the District Court denied the defendant’s motion for these special self-defense and justification instructions on the grounds the evidence elicited at trial as a factual matter did not support the defendant’s entitlement to the instructions. At…