State v. Musselwhite

Judge BECTON

dissenting.

While I hesitate to “adopt a rule of law which more easily justifies the taking of human life,” Commonwealth v. Johnston, 438 Pa. 485, 493, 263 A. 2d 376, 381 (1970) (Pomeroy, J., dissenting), I dissent from the majority’s resolution of defendant’s self-defense claim. This is indeed a close case, but I believe the majority has usurped the jury’s function. It finds that “there is no evidence that the defendant was or reasonably believed himself to be in danger of death or great bodily harm,” ante, page 3, and concludes that “no construction of the evidence in this case…