Atkins v. State

Banke, Chief Judge.

The defendant was indicted on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. This appeal is from his conviction of voluntary manslaughter.

Upon discovering his estranged wife’s car parked outside a motel and determining that she was registered there, the defendant located her room and forced open the door, ripping a security chain from the wall in the process. He was met in the doorway by the victim, who had been having a tryst with the wife and was armed with a liquor bottle. Following a brief struggle, the defendant forced the victim to…