Connell v. Commonwealth

I concur in Part I, Part II, and Part IV of the majority opinion. Therefore, I would also reverse the convictions and remand for a new trial. I dissent from Part III, however, because I believe the doctrine of imperfect self-defense was available to Kevin Alexander Connell and required the trial judge to give the jury a separate, additional instruction regarding voluntary manslaughter.

In Virginia, “manslaughter is a common law offense.” Blythe v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 722, 725, 284 S.E.2d 796, 797 (1981). The common law traditionally recognized a circumstance in which a “ ‘killing in…