Alonzo v. State

in which MEYERS, JOHNSON, KEASLER, HERVEY, COCHRAN, and ALCALA, JJ., joined.

The appellant killed a fellow inmate in a prison fight. A jury convicted him of manslaughter. The Court of Appeals affirmed.1 Because the trial court and the Court of Appeals misapplied the law of self-defense, we shall reverse.

I. Background

A. Trial

The appellant and Victor Rocha, both prisoners, engaged in a fight on June 30, 2006. The appellant testified that Rocha attacked him with a cable attached to a metal object, that the two engaged in a struggle, and that Rocha then dropped the cable and produced a metal…