Christopher Payton Butler a/k/a Christopher Butler v. State of Mississippi

Summary

The Mississippi Court of Appeals affirmed Christopher Butler’s first-degree murder conviction and life sentence. The court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by refusing an imperfect self-defense manslaughter instruction because the evidence did not show that Butler subjectively believed he faced an imminent danger of death or great bodily harm when he followed and shot the victim. The court distinguished imperfect self-defense from true self-defense and found the requested instruction lacked a factual foundation.

Holdings

1. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing the requested instruction because the evidence lacked a factual foundation from which a reasonable jury could find that Butler subjectively held a bona fide but unreasonable belief that shooting Harris was necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by refusing to give Butler's requested imperfect-self-defense manslaughter jury instruction.

Disposition

affirmed