Peeples v. Commonwealth

*363BENTON, Judge.

David Toran Peeples, a juvenile, was tried and convicted by a jury of aggravated malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of aggravated malicious wounding in violation of Code §§ 18.2-51.2 and 18.2-53.1, respectively. On appeal, Peeples contends the trial judge erred in refusing to admit expert testimony regarding Peeples’s mental state, which was offered to negate malice and to aid in his claim of self-defense. For the reasons that follow, we hold that the evidence was admissible because it tended to aid his claim of self-defense. Therefore, we reverse…