Brown v. State

Carley, Justice.

James Brown was charged with the murder of Jeffery Clarkson. Clarkson was married to Brown’s former wife and, thus, was the step-father of Brown’s five-year-old daughter. Brown admitted that he killed the victim, but claimed that he was justified in doing so because of his daughter’s molestation by Clarkson. The trial court granted the State’s motion in limine to exclude any evidence concerning the alleged molestation. According to the trial court, an act of molestation, without a showing of the use or threat of physical force, is not a forcible felony for which the defense of…