State v. Hanaman
Annotate this CaseDefendant William Hanaman was convicted of intentional or knowing murder following a jury trial. Hanaman appealed, contending that the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of adequate provocation to reduce the murder charge to manslaughter pursuant to Me. Rev. Stat. 17-A, 201(3). The trial court determined that an adequate provocation instruction was subsumed by instructions that were given on self-defense and imperfect self-defense. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the evidence was not legally sufficient to support a jury instruction on the affirmative defense of adequate provocation, and therefore, the court did not err in refusing to give an adequate provocation instruction in this case.
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