Max Power
Max Power is the Editor-in-Chief of Undoing Time. You can reach him at info@undoingtime.org or by calling 866-664-3052
In this Mississippi Criminal Caselaw Roundup we’ll be discussing the latest developments in Mississippi criminal law, criminal appeals, and post-conviction relief.
Cases we’ll cover include Castle Doctrine, self defense, first degree murder, and more.
The Mississippi Criminal Caselaw Roundup is a blog summarizing the latest developments in criminal law, criminal appeals, and post-conviction relief in the State of Mississippi. We digest the latest reversed convictions throughout the Mississippi Court of Appeals and Mississippi Supreme Court.
This is a FREE service designed to give you the cutting edge of developments in Mississippi criminal law, appeals, and post-conviction relief.
MISSISSIPPI SUPREME COURT
No reversals reported.
MISSISSIPPI COURT OF APPEALS
CLICK TO READ Kennard R. Nichols v. State of Mississippi, Docket # 2022-KA-00202-COA
Police were summoned to Defendant’s home, and found him outside his home with a single-shot .410 caliber shotgun. They saw the decedent in the driver’s seat of a truck in the driveway with the engine running. Defendant’s property was gated, and the gates were open. Defendant told the police that he shot the decedent, and was taken into custody. Inside the truck, police found numerous bags of cocaine, heroin, cash, a knife in the console, a knife in the decedent’s pocket, and saw two .45 caliber casings on the ground near the rear of the truck. The decedent had a gunshot wound to the head and another to his neck, and the autopsy determine that the bullets entered the decedent’s body from back to front. The cell phone recovered from the decedent indicated several short calls between the parties, and a couple of text messages. The last text was Defendant telling the decedent “Please don’t come by my house.”
Defendant and his wife testified at trial. The wife testified that the decedent had called her several times in the preceding month with veiled threats, and appeared once at her place of employment. Defendant testified that he purchased pills from the decedent in the past but stopped using them months before the incident. However, the decedent claimed Defendant owed him money and then threatened to kill him. He testified that on the day of the incident the decedent passed by his home several times, but because someone else was home with him, the decedent did not try to come in until the other person had left. Once the other person left, the decedent opened the gate, which had been closed, and confronted Defendant about Defendant’s having talked to police about the decedent, and demanded money he believed was owed. Defendant repeatedly told the decedent to leave, but the decedent refused to leave and threatened to kill him. When the decedent appeared to reach for an item, Defendant shot him twice because he feared for his life.
During the jury instruction conference, the defense proposed a castle doctrine instruction regarding self defense. After hearing arguments from both sides, the circuit court held that there was no evidence of unlawful or forcible entry into Nichols’ dwelling or the immediate premises and refused the proposed instruction. The jury was, however, instructed on self defense.
Kennard Nichols was convicted by a Newton County Circuit Court jury for the First Degree Murder, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
The Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed and granted a new trial. The Court theld that in homicide cases, the trial court should instruct the jury about a defendant’s theories of defense, justification, or excuse that are supported by the evidence, no matter how meager or unlikely. The castle doctrine “creates a presumption of fear and abridges a duty to retreat in certain prescribed circumstances.” In order to claim the Castle Doctrine defense, the evidence must establish the defendant is in a place where he had a right to be, is not the immediate provoker and aggressor, and is not engaged in unlawful activity, he has no duty to retreat before using defensive force. If the jury finds any of the factors are satisfied, the defendant who uses such defensive force is presumed to have reasonably feared imminent death or great bodily harm or the commission of a felony upon him.
Here, the Court of Appeals held that there was sufficient evidence to support a Castle Doctrine instruction. Failure to give the instruction required reversal and a new trial.
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SPECIFIC SEARCH TERMS (TAGS)
Castle Doctrine, self defense, first degree murder
