Commonwealth v. Szlachta

Summary

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reviewed Marion Szlachta’s conviction of murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty for the beating death of his housemate. The defendant argued that the trial judge improperly instructed the jury regarding the effect of his mental impairment on the degree of murder. The court held that the instruction conformed to applicable model instructions and precedent, affirmed the conviction, and declined to reduce it under G. L. c. 278, § 33E.

Holdings

1. The judge did not err in refusing to give the defendant's requested instruction because the judge accurately instructed the jury on the Cunneen factors and, consistently with the Model Jury Instructions on Homicide, instructed that the jury could consider evidence of mental impairment in determining whether the defendant acted with extreme atrocity or cruelty.
2. A conviction for murder in the first degree on a theory of extreme atrocity or cruelty does not require proof that the defendant had a specific mental intent or knew that his acts were extremely atrocious or cruel beyond the malice aforethought required for murder.
3. The defendant was not entitled to a reduction of his first-degree murder conviction to second-degree murder under § 33E.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial judge erred by refusing to give the defendant's requested instruction stating that the jury could consider mental impairment in evaluating his ability to make decisions normally or appreciate the consequences of his choices in determining extreme atrocity or cruelty.
2. Whether the defendant was entitled to reduction of his first-degree murder conviction to second-degree murder under the Supreme Judicial Court's extraordinary power pursuant to G. L. c. 278, § 33E.

Disposition

affirmed