People v. Rodwell
| Decision Date | 05 April 1984 |
| Citation | 100 A.D.2d 772,474 N.Y.S.2d 45 |
| Parties | The PEOPLE of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Matthew RODWELL, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
D.K. Grobman, New York City, for respondent.
L.W.L. Fahey, New York City, for defendant-appellant.
Before KUPFERMAN, J.P., and SANDLER, SULLIVAN, ASCH and KASSAL, JJ.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County, rendered November 12, 1982, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of manslaughter in the second degree and sentencing him to an indeterminate term of from three to nine years, unanimously reversed, on the law and on the facts, and as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, and the indictment dismissed with leave to resubmit to the grand jury, the matter remanded to Trial Term for the purpose of issuing a securing order pursuant to CPL 210.45[9], and defendant committed to the custody of the Department of Correction pending the issuance of such order.
The victim, Freddy Killingsworth, died as a result of a knife wound extending into his heart, which he sustained in an altercation with defendant over Killingsworth's attentions to defendant's former "common law" wife. The two men had argued and eventually Killingsworth, who was sitting on a railing next to a stoop, kicked at defendant. When Killingsworth stepped off the railing and advanced toward him, defendant stepped backwards and took a knife from his pocket. As the two men reached the curb with Killingsworth pursuing defendant, who was still backing up, defendant apparently stumbled. With an upward thrust defendant stabbed Killingsworth in the stomach as he stepped off the curb between two parked cars. Defendant testified that when Killingsworth stepped off the curb he had his right hand in his jacket pocket, leading defendant to believe that Killingsworth was reaching for a knife or gun to use against him.
The jury acquitted defendant of manslaughter in the first degree, but convicted him of the lesser included offense, which had been submitted in the alternative, of manslaughter in the second degree, i.e., recklessly causing the death of another. At the beginning of its charge on the elements of the various crimes the court noted that the People contended that the stabbing was unjustified while defendant contended that he never intended to stab Killingsworth and that he acted in self-defense. The court charged justification; however, it mentioned self-defense only in connection with manslaughter in the first degree. In fact, it specifically referred to the lack of justification as "the third element" of that crime. It defined justification for the jurors, and again repeated that lack of justification was the third element...
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