Washington v. Henderson (Majority and Dissent)
Annotate this CaseIn 2008, teenager Philip Johnson called his close friend (and fellow Hilltop Crips gang member) defendant-respondent Marsele Henderson to say he was going to a party at a Boys and Girls Club. Henderson advised Johnson not to go because the club was too close to a rival gang's territory. Johnson went to the party, where he was shot. Henderson learned of the shooting and went to the hospital with his friends, including Koloneus D'Orman McClarron, to check on Johnson. Johnson died shortly thereafter at the hospital, although McClarron and Henderson testified that they did not learn of his death at the hospital. One of the disputed-facts in this case was how many people were in the area in front of the house prior to shots being fired, because whether a person shot into a crowd of people or whether they shot toward an area with very few people might have determined the nature of the crime. Witness testimony on this point varied significantly. Witnesses testified that either McClarron or Henderson pulled a gun and fired six shots toward the house from the street. McClarron testified that Henderson fired the shots, but Henderson testified that it was McClarron who did it. Neither could give an explanation as to why the other person fired the gun. Four people testified that the shooter yelled something related to the Hilltop Crips at the time of the shooting. Witnesses were divided about whether the shooter looked like Henderson or McClarron. prosecutors charged Henderson with first degree murder by extreme indifference. At trial, Henderson asked that the jury be instructed on the lesser included charge of first degree manslaughter. Initially, the State agreed, acknowledging that the definitions of first degree murder by extreme indifference and first degree manslaughter are "very close" and that there is "hardly a difference." The State later changed its position based on two Court of Appeals cases from 1998 and 1999: "Washington v. Pettus," (951 P.2d 284 (1998)), and "Washington v. Pastrana," (972 P.2d 557 (1999)). In both of those cases, the Court of Appeals held that the defendants were not entitled to a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of manslaughter because the defendants' actions were much more than merely reckless. The Supreme Court later narrowed the definition of reckless in the context of manslaughter in "Washington v. Gamble," (114 P.3d 646 (2005)), to specifically mean a disregard of a substantial risk of homicide. Defendant's trial counsel did not bring "Gamble" to the attention of the trial court, and as a result, the trial court agreed with the State that "Pettus" and "Pastrana" were controlling and refused to instruct on manslaughter. The jury convicted Henderson of first degree murder by extreme indifference. Henderson appealed, contending that the trial court erred when it refused to instruct the jury on first degree manslaughter. The Court of Appeals reversed Henderson's conviction, holding that he was entitled to the instruction. Upon review, the Supreme Court agreed, affirmed the Court of Appeals and reversed Henderson's conviction.
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