State of Washington v. Lisa Elaine Thysell

¶1 — Some cases state the defendant must produce evidence of self-defense to be entitled to a self-defense instruction. At issue here is whether a defendant is entitled to a self-defense instruction when only the State produces evidence of self-defense. We take this opportunity to clarify the law. We hold that a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on self-defense when, considering all of the evidence, the jury could have a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant acted in self-defense. Here, the trial court refused to give the requested instruction because only the State presented…