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Criminal Law keyed to Dripps
Commonwealth v. Mink
Facts
Ms. Mink (Defendant) was indicted for the murder of Charles Ricker. At trial, Defendant introduced evidence that she had been engaged to Ricker and when he expressed his intention of breaking off the engagement at her home, she retrieved a nearby pistol and attempted to commit suicide by pointing the gun at her head. However, Ricker stopped her from firing the gun. Thereafter Ricker and Defendant engaged in a struggle and the gun discharged, killing Ricker. The court instructed the jury that if the evidence showed that Defendant pointed a loaded gun at her head for the purposes of committing suicide, that she was about to do an unlawful act. Additionally, the court instructed that Defendant is guilty of manslaughter if the doing of her unlawful act resulted in Ricker’s death, albeit unintentional. Defendant was convicted and she appealed.
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