Ex Parte State of Alabama. (in Re Sean Travis Howard v. State of Alabama)

Summary

The Supreme Court of Alabama reversed the Court of Criminal Appeals, holding that the trial court was not required to instruct the jury on manslaughter because the evidence showed that Howard intentionally fired several shots at a person near children, conduct fitting reckless murder rather than reckless manslaughter. The court concluded that the lower appellate decision conflicted with the governing lesser-included-offense standard because no evidence supported a manslaughter instruction. Justice Murdock, dissenting, would have affirmed because the limited evidence about the actors’ positions left the degree of recklessness for the jury to decide.