State v. Utter

Facts

Utter was a combat infantryman who was honorably discharged from the armed services. At the time of the day in question, he and his son, the decedent, were living together. The son entered the father’s apartment and shortly after was heard to say, “Dad, don’t.” Shortly after, the decedent was seen stumbling in the hallway of the apartment building with a stab wound on the chest. He collapsed and said, “Dad stabbed me.” He died before he could be questioned further.

Utter was charged with the crime of murder in the second degree. He testified that on the date of his son’s death, he began drinking in the early morning. He drank heavily throughout the day. He remembers drinking with his friend and the next thing he remembers was being in jail subsequent to the death of his son. Utter introduced evidence on “conditioned response,” which is an act or a pattern of activity occurring so rapidly and uniformly as to be automatic in response to a certain stimulus. Mr. Utter testified that as a result of his military experience, he has had two occasions in the 1950’s in which he reacted violently towards people approaching him unexpectedly from the rear. The trial court ruled that conditioned response was not a defense and instructed the jury to disregard all evidence introduced on this subject.

He was convicted by the jury of the crime of manslaughter. He appealed the conviction.