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Md. high court will review killer’s claim of racial bias in Belton case
Maryland’s top court will consider if alleged racially charged comments so permeated an appeals court opinion that a convicted killer deserves a new hearing.
Convicted killer seeks high court review, claims racial bias in appellate opinion
Racially charged comments so permeated a recently reported Maryland appeals court opinion that a convicted killer deserves a new hearing before an impartial appellate body, the Black convict’s attorney argued.
Convicted Baltimore killer’s defense-of-mom claim draws appeals court’s scorn
A Maryland appeals court has upheld the voluntary manslaughter conviction of a Baltimore drug dealer in an opinion overflowing with disbelief at his argument that he killed a competitor to defend himself and the life of his mother.
Duress defense applies only to imminent death, Maryland high court says
Members of violent gangs who kill out of fear they would soon be killed if they disobeyed a deadly order cannot later claim they acted out of duress in order to change a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter, Maryland’s top court unanimously ruled Friday.
Md. high court faults jury instruction in ‘battered spouse’ case
Delving into the issue of domestic violence, Maryland’s top court has ruled that abuse in prior relationships can be evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome without its victims having to first show they were repeatedly abused by the significant other they killed and for which they stand trial. The Court of Appeals rendered its decision in […]
Murderers’ ‘duress defense’ applies only to imminent death, Md. court says
Members of violent gangs who kill out of fear they would soon be killed if they disobeyed a deadly order cannot later claim they acted out of duress in order to change a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter, Maryland’s second-highest court ruled Thursday. In its reported 3-0 decision, the Court of Special Appeals said the […]
Md. high court weighs jury instruction in ‘battered spouse’ case
Delving into the issue of domestic violence, Maryland’s top court Thursday grappled with whether a judge properly instructed a jury to determine first if a woman suffered from Battered Spouse Syndrome before deciding if she killed her boyfriend in self-defense. Defense attorney James Kirkpatrick told the Court of Appeals that the Wicomico County Circuit Court […]
Court reverses conviction, cites flawed battered-spouse instruction
Delving into the issue of deadly domestic violence, Maryland’s second-highest court ruled Friday that judges have the duty to decide whether to admit into evidence instances of past abuse that indicate defendants may have suffered from Battered Spouse Syndrome when claiming they killed their significant other in self-defense. Jurors can then consider that evidence of […]
