Diggs v. State

I concur in the Court’s judgment reversing Ellis Andrei Diggs’s conviction on the basis that Diggs was entitled to an instruction on self-defense under § 13A-3-23(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. I dissent, however, from the main opinion’s apparent holding that Diggs was also entitled to an additional instruction under § 13A-3-23(b), Ala.Code 1975, that he had no duty to retreat under the circumstances presented here.

“In Kidd v. State, [105 So.3d 1261 (Ala.Crim.App.2012) ], Kidd argued that ‘the trial court’s jury instruction regarding self-defense was misleading because, he said, it was contrary to the…