People v. Moore

Defendant, James Moore, was charged with voluntary manslaughter. A jury in the circuit court of Cook County found him guilty of that crime and the court sentenced him to one to three years. On appeal .defendant contends that the trial court erroneously refused to give a certain instruction to the jury, and that he was not proved guilty of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.

On August 26, 1973, Phillip Taylor was shot and killed in the alley behind defendant’s home in the City of Chicago. Defendant admits that he shot the decedent, but claims that he acted in self-defense. Up until a few…