Williams v. Mississippi

Courtney Williams appeals her manslaughter conviction. James Williams, his pregnant daughter Courtney, and Courtney’s two children lived with James at James’s residence. James had recently allowed Courtney’s boyfriend, Cymonde “CJ” Sailer, to move in with them. On the night of September 1, 2019, Courtney, her daughter, and CJ were in Courtney’s bedroom watching television. Between 10:30-11:00 p.m., James discovered that CJ had fallen asleep in Courtney’s bed despite an agreement that CJ would sleep in Courtney’s son’s bedroom across the hall. An altercation occurred between James and Courtney. During the altercation, Courtney stabbed James twice in the back. When law enforcement arrived, Courtney advised that her father had attacked her and that she had stabbed her father in the back. One of the law enforcement officers then left to check on James. James was found deceased inside of his vehicle outside of his residence. He was in the driver’s seat, leaned over with his head down. A forensic pathologist who performed James' autopsy found his blood alcohol level was about one and one half times the legal limit. The physician opined the cause of death was “stabbing of the torso” and that the manner of death was homicide. Courtney was indicted and charged with the first-degree murder of James. The Mississippi Supreme Court determined the trial court erroneously refused Courtney's proposed jury instructions related to her right to stand her ground, her conviction and sentence were reversed and the case remanded for a new trial.