D. J. Sidney Dawkins v. Commonwealth of Virginia

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed Dawkins's conviction for unlawfully causing bodily injury with intent to maim, disable, disfigure, or kill. It held that the evidence supported submitting malicious injury to the jury and sustaining the unlawful-injury conviction because fists and knees fall within the statute's phrase "by any means." The court also found no error in the self-defense instructions and held that the jury-controlled sentence was within the statutory range.