United States v. White Feather, No. 13-2725 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseWhite Feather killed his cellmate, Running Bear, in their federal prison cell by disemboweling the victim using a disassembled Bic razor, having first choked him into unconsciousness during a late-night fight. White Feather was charged with murder by a federal prisoner, 18 U.S.C. 1118. Before trial the government moved to preclude him from offering a defense of self-defense. The district judge deferred ruling and permitted White Feather to present evidence in support of the defense at trial. Ultimately, the judge concluded that White Feather was not entitled to a self-defense jury instruction because the evidence did not support it. The jury found White Feather guilty, The Seventh Circuit affirmed, agreeing that, even accepting that Running Bear was the initial aggressor, as a matter of law that Running Bear “was not imposing an imminent threat of … harm or deadly force” when White Feather sliced into his abdomen with the razor.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.