State v. Brown

Facts

In early 1993, the defendant met Josephine Calanshe and they dated briefly. By the summer of that same year, they were both dating other people, though they remained friends.

On August 23, 1993, the defendant, along with a few friends, began drinking beer around noon, and continued drinking throughout the afternoon. That evening, they all went to Josephine’s house, where they continued to drink. It is estimated that they drank over 100 bottles of beer.

Josephine’s boyfriend, Oscar Zapata, was also at Josephine’s house. The defendant and Oscar shook hands and it appeared that there was no conflict between them. However, when Oscar and Josephine were kissing, the defendant shot Oscar in the back of the head.

The defendant took the stand and testified that he was so intoxicated on the night of the murder that he did not recall anything about the shooting. He testified that he had blackout episodes in the past due to excessive alcohol consumption and had been a heavy drinker since he was fifteen years old (he was nineteen at the time of the murder). He was convicted of first-degree depraved mind murder. He appealed, arguing that the court erred by not permitting the jury to consider his intoxication.