Darrell Jackson v. Commonwealth of Kentucky

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed Jackson’s conviction for first‑degree manslaughter, holding that he was engaged in unlawful activity at the time of the shooting and therefore not entitled to a “no duty to retreat” instruction, that the admission of his juvenile adjudication at sentencing was proper, and that the statute permitting such admission remains constitutionally valid under the Court’s prior comity. The decision also reaffirmed the Court’s earlier rulings on the scope of self‑defense statutes and the separation‑of‑powers analysis.