Butler v. State
Annotate this CaseAppellant Louis Butler was convicted of capital murder by unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle. During trial, the circuit court rejected Butler's proffered instruction on manslaughter based on imperfect self-defense and manslaughter committed under extreme emotional disturbance because the court did not find "a scintilla" of evidence to support any form of manslaughter other than the question of whether Butler recklessly caused the victim's death. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to give the proffered instruction because there was no evidence to support the other forms of manslaughter and, therefore, no rational basis on which to give the proffered instruction.
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