Gammons v. State
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction for attempted murder and carrying a handgun without a license, holding that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on self-defense, and the instructional error was not harmless.
During trial, Defendant asserted that he shot Derek Gilbert, who was intoxicated and aggressive, to protect his and his son's lives. The court instructed the jury that Defendant could not assert self-defense if he committed a crime that was "directly and immediately related" to his confrontation with Gilbert. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction, holding (1) the jury instruction diluted the standard set forth in Mayes v. State, 744 N.E.2d 390 (Ind. 2001), that "there must be an immediate causal connection between the crime and the confrontation"; and (2) this instructional error was not harmless.
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.