State v. Guthrie

On February 12, 1993, Steven Farley and the defendant were working together in the kitchen of a restaurant. Farley was poking fun at the defendant, who appeared to be in a bad mood. He told him to light up and snapped him with a dishtowel. The dishtowel hit the defendant’s nose. The defendant then pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed Steven in the neck and the arm. He did not survive.

At trial, evidence was presented that showed that the defendant suffered from a host of psychiatric problems, chronic depression, and an obsession with his nose. The defendant’s father testified that the defendant spent 50% of his time looking at his nose, and constantly asking for assurance that it was not too big. The defendant testified that he had a panic attack immediately preceding the stabbing, and that being struck in the nose caused him to lose it. A psychiatrist also testified that the defendant’s diagnoses “may have affected his perception somewhat,” though it was his opinion that the defendant was sane at the time of the offense.

The Court instructed the jury that “what is meant by the language willful, deliberate and premeditated is that the killing be intentional” and that “it is only necessary that such intention should have come into existence for the first time at the time of such killing, or at any time previously.” The defendant was convicted of first degree murder. He appealed, asserting that the trial court’s instructions regarding the elements of first degree murder were improper.