Spence v. State
Spence v. State
Opinion of the Court
We affirm the defendant's conviction of second degree murder. The defendant and the victim became involved in a verbal altercation. The victim, who had been drinking, made obscene remarks and gestures regarding the defendant’s niece, resulting in an exchange of curses. When the defendant learned that the victim had, undetected, just slapped his niece, who was present on the scene, further argument erupted. The victim approached the defendant with a closed fist and the defendant, who was in the company of two other men, pulled out a pistol, struck the victim in the face with it, and knocked him to the ground. The defendant then fired the gun into the air. As the victim was getting up, the defendant pointed the gun downward at the victim and fired the fatal shot. The victim was unarmed, but there was testimony that he had reached into his jacket pocket before he was shot. There was no other evidence to support the defendant’s contention that he believed the victim was armed, although the defense argued that this belief was supported by the fact that it was a rough neighborhood.
We conclude that there is sufficient evidence to support a conclusion by the jury that the defendant’s acts were
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.