State v. Huth
| Decision Date | 11 May 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 13423,13423 |
| Citation | 334 N.W.2d 485 |
| Parties | STATE of South Dakota, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Charles Michael HUTH, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | South Dakota Supreme Court |
John P. Guhin, Asst. Atty. Gen., Pierre, for plaintiff and appellee; Mark V. Meierhenry, Atty. Gen., Pierre, on brief.
John J. Burnett, Rapid City, for defendant and appellant.
Appellant, Charles Huth, was charged with first degree murder in the stabbing death of Glen Vaughn. After appellant pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness, a jury convicted him of first degree manslaughter. We modify and affirm the judgment.
Appellant and Lea Ann Huth were married in 1977. They separated in May 1979, and, in December 1979, initiated divorce proceedings. Since the separation, Lea Ann has had custody of their son Brandon and has lived with her parents in Rapid City.
On May 21, 1980, Lea Ann, Brandon, and Glen Vaughn, who was dating Lea Ann, went to dinner and attended a softball game in Rapid City. They returned to Lea Ann's parents' home at approximately 10:30 P.M. At approximately 12:30 A.M. on May 22, 1980, Lea Ann answered a telephone call. She heard a muffled noise and the caller hung up. Lea Ann suspected that appellant was calling and asked Vaughn to stay in the event appellant came to the house. A short time later she saw appellant's pickup drive by the house. She heard the dog barking outside and she and Vaughn went out to see what was disturbing the animal. Outside, Lea Ann and Vaughn could hear air escaping from the tire of a vehicle and someone moving about. Vaughn walked toward the area where vehicles were parked while Lea Ann remained near the residence.
Lea Ann observed appellant with a knife as he backed Vaughn against a retaining wall outside the residence. Hoping to prevent harm to Vaughn, Lea Ann threatened to kill appellant's son Brandon. Vaughn grabbed at one of appellant's hands and attempted to push him away. Appellant stabbed Vaughn with the knife. Vaughn died as a result of the stabbing.
Appellant's first issue is that the trial court committed reversible error in failing to instruct the jury that appellant could be committed to a mental hospital if he was found not guilty by reason of mental illness. The following instruction was proposed by appellant:
If you find the defendant not guilty by reason of mental illness, he will not necessarily be released. If you find him not guilty by reason of mental illness, the Court, upon the petition of the State, if the Court deems him dangerous to the public safety, is empowered to order the defendant to be committed to a hospital for the mentally ill and he will be detained there until it has been determined in an appropriate mental examination that the defendant is not a danger to the public safety.
Appellant patterned his proposed instruction after SDCL 23A-26-12 which states:
When the jury has returned a verdict acquitting the defendant upon the ground of mental illness, a court may, if the defendant is in custody and it deems his discharge dangerous to the public safety, order a hearing pursuant to chapter 27A-9. The defendant may be held in custody pending the hearing.
This statute indicates that commitment to a mental hospital upon a verdict of not guilty by reason of mental illness is not mandatory. Whenever the verdict is "not guilty by reason of mental illness," the trial court must find that it would be a danger to the public safety to discharge the defendant. "In South Dakota, commitment is not mandatory; the court must find the defendant 'dangerous to the public peace and safety if left at large.' " We hold it is not prejudicial error to fail to instruct on what is only a possible effect of the jury's verdict." State v. Black Feather, 249 N.W.2d 261, 265 (S.D.1976) (citations omitted). Accordingly, the trial court did not commit prejudicial error in failing to instruct the jury as appellant proposed.
Appellant claims the trial court committed reversible error in failing to adopt three instructions relating to justifiable homicide in defense of a person's child. Appellant's proposed instructions are:
Appellant's Proposed Instruction # 2
A homicide, that is, the killing of one human being by another, is justifiable when committed by any person in the lawful defense of his child when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony, or to do some great personal injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished. In order to constitute this defense, it is not necessary that the danger actually exist, but only that there shall be reasonable grounds to apprehend the existence of such danger, and a party, upon honest and reasonable apprehension of such danger to his child, may act to defend him in such manner and with such means as may seem to him reasonably necessary in view of the apparent imminent danger to his child.
When defense of a child is raised as an issue by evidence tending to show the same, whether produced by the defendant or the State, the burden of proving the defendant did not act in defense of his child rests upon the State beyond a reasonable doubt.
Where facts exist tending to show justification in killing a person in defense of a child, the defendant is not culpable if, in lawfully defending his child, he unintentionally injures or kills a third person. If upon a fair consideration of the evidence, if any, touching the circumstances of such justification, together with all of the other evidence in the case, you have a reasonable doubt as to whether the defendant committed the homicide unintentionally in the defense of his child, you should find the defendant not guilty.
Instead of adopting appellant's proposed instructions, the trial court offered the following instruction:
Instruction # 25
A homicide is justifiable when committed by one who has reasonable cause or grounds to believe, and in good faith does believe, that the person in whose behalf he acts is in immediate and imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury at the hands of the decedent or someone acting in concert with the decedent.
The defendant, however, must have acted upon an honest and reasonable conviction of necessity and a good faith belief that the decedent or someone acting in concert with the decedent intended to kill or seriously injure his child.
The defendant having such an honest and reasonable apprehension of such danger to his child may act to defend him in such manner and with such means as may seem to him reasonably necessary in view of the circumstances.
A person who is exercising his right to defend his child may not only stand his ground but may pursue the person who threatens his child until he has secured his child from the immediate and imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury if that course appears to him, and would appear to a reasonable person in the same situation, to be reasonably and apparently necessary.
The law, however, does not permit or justify one who intends to commit an assault or homicide upon another to design in advance his own defense of his child by instigating a quarrel or combat with a view thereby to create a situation wherein the infliction of the intended injury will appear to have been done in defense of his child.
The kind and degree of force which a person may lawfully use in defense of his child is limited by what a reasonable person in the same situation as such person, seeing what he sees and knowing what he knows, then would believe to be necessary. Any use of force beyond that is regarded by the law as excessive. Although a person may believe that he is acting, and may act, in defense of his child, he is not justified in using a degree of force clearly in excess of that apparently and reasonably necessary under the existing facts and circumstances.
When defense of a child is raised as an issue by evidence showing the same, whether produced by the defendant or state, the burden of proving that the defendant did not act in defense of his child rests upon the state to prove so beyond a reasonable doubt.
Appellant raises several challenges to this instruction. First, appellant argues that the instruction did not inform the jury that homicide is justifiable if a person has reasonable grounds to apprehend the existence of a danger to his child even though the actual danger did not actually exist. Justifiable homicide in defense of another person is recognized in South Dakota:
Homicide is justifiable when committed by any person in the lawful defense of such person, or of his or her husband, wife, parent, child, master, mistress, or servant when there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony, or to do some great personal injury, and imminent danger of such design being accomplished.
SDCL 22-16-35. Thus, the mental perception of a person claiming the defense of justifiable homicide must be a "reasonable," good faith, honest apprehension of danger to a child. The provisions of SDCL 22-16-35 were adequately explained and the jury was sufficiently instructed on justifiable homicide in defense of a child.
Appellant further argues that instruction # 25 failed to inform the jury that an unintentional killing of a human being was an excusable homicide. The trial court, however, gave other adequate instructions on excusable homicide and accidental acts. See South Dakota Pattern Jury Instructions (Criminal) 2-14, 3-7-350. Instructions to a jury must be read in their entirety and considered as a whole. State v. Fox, 313 N.W.2d 38 (S.D.1981); State v. Poss, 298 N.W.2d 80 (S.D.1980). Accordingly, we find appellant's argument without merit.
Appellant also argues that instruction # 25 erroneously presented the question of self-design of a quarrel or combat to justify an act of self-defense. The...
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Dotch v. State, No. CR-07-1913 (Ala. Crim. App. 4/2/2010)
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