People v. Goetz

Facts

On December 22, 1984, four youths (Troy Canty, Darryl Cabey, James Ramseur, and Barry Allen) boarded an express subway train in the Bronx. They sat together in the rear portion of the train. The defendant sat on a bench near them.

Canty allegedly approached the defendant, and stated “give me five dollars.” He did not display a weapon. The defendant responded by standing up, pulling out his handgun, and firing four shots. The first shot hit Canty in the chest, the second hit Allen in the back, the third went through Ramseur’s arm and into his left side, and the forth was aimed at Cabey, but missed. After the defendant briefly surveyed the scene, he fired another shot at Cabey. The defendant then left the train.

On December 31, he surrendered to the police. He stated that he had a fear, based on prior experiences, of being maimed. He admitted that if he had more bullets, he would have shot them more times. He was indicted for attempted murder. The prosecutor had told the jury that indicted him that they were to consider the circumstances of the incident and determine “whether the defendant’s conduct was that of a reasonable man in the defendant’s situation.” The lower court dismissed the indictment on the basis that the defense of justification should permit the jury to consider the situation from the defendant’s perspective.