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tazzygirl -> RE: Update on Trayvon Martin case (10/13/2012 6:47:06 PM)
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Mark A. Fields appeals his convictions of burglary with a firearm with a battery,
aggravated assault with a firearm, and criminal mischief. Fields argues that the trial
court erred by (1) instructing the jury that he was required to prove his claim of selfdefense beyond a reasonable doubt, and (2) denying his motion for new trial in light of 2
newly-discovered evidence. We agree that the self-defense instruction was
fundamentally flawed and reverse. As a result, we need not address the second issue.
also there was a witness....
Not surprisingly, Fields’s version of events differed markedly. Fields testified that
the incident started when Desormo knocked Conrad off a bar stool. Desormo then
struck Fields, knocking him unconscious. When Fields regained consciousness, he saw
Conrad on the floor being punched by four or five people. Fields then ran to his truck,
retrieved his shotgun, and returned to the bar to defend Conrad. Fields testified that he
was again knocked unconscious when someone hit him in the back of the head. The
next thing that Fields remembered was being told by a police officer that he was under
arrest. Another witness corroborated Fields’s version of events. Conrad did not testify.
This case was reversed based upon a bad jury instruction.
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