KARLA LOUISE PORTER v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Court of Appeals of Maryland, Adkins, August 7, 2017,
Imperfect Self Defense- Battered Spouse Syndrome- A defendant who engages in murder for hire can claim imperfect self defense through belief in “imminent danger” due to Battered Spouse Syndrome

(Dissent- Greene with McDonald and Getty- Murder for hire weeks in advance is not a response to an “imminent” threat)

Reversing CoSA

I would like to pass a constitutional amendment preventing appellate courts from performing their own untested fact-finding. Want to find out more about battered women? Remand for a hearing where issues and facts can be contested. Don’t just pull up a wikipedia article…

Facts:
The defendant met Ray Porter in 1982. They began dating and married in 1986. In 2010, Ray Porter was shot to death in Baltimore County at a Hess Gas Station that they two of them owned.
Immediately afterwards, Porter called 911 and told the police that the gas station had been robbed and that the thief had shot her husband.
However, evidence subsequently revealed that Porter hired a gunman to kill her husband.
Investigation revealed that from 2009-2010 the defendant approached multiple people to kill her husband. She gave her daughter’s boyfriend $1,000 to “take care of” her husband. The week before Christmas, she asked one of Ray’s coworkers to kill him. In January 2010, Porter asked an acquaintance if she knew where she could get some potassium cyanide to poison Ray. None of these people helped her kill Ray.
Eventually, Porter’s nephew put her in touch with Walter Bishop, who agreed to kill her husband in exchange for $400. Porter provided him with a handgun and set up her husband by sending him to the gas station to be executed.
At trial, Karla Porter (“Porter”) testified that her husband had abused her for years and asserted “battered spouse syndrome” in a claim of self-defense. Porter had two expert witnesses testify about her mental state at the time of the murder-for-hire as well as lay witnesses who testified about her behavior around her husband. Porter’s daughter also testified for her mother, testifying that Ray Porter was abusive.
The State asked the judge to change the normal jury instructions in order to add more elements to the partial defense of imperfect self defense.
The judge did so and the jury convicted Porter of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder, and use of a handgun in commission of a crime of violence. She was sentenced to life plus 40 years in
prison.
Porter then appealed, claiming that the judge should not have changed the original jury instruction.
The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the circuit court judge, holding that Porter wasn’t entitled to a self-defense instruction at all.
Porter then requested that the Court of Appeals review the case.

Held: The Court of Appeals agreed with Porter. Not only was Porter entitled to as self-defense instruction, but the instruction the trial judge gave was incorrect.

“Battered Spouse Syndrome” means the psychological condition of a victim of repeated physical and psychological abuse by a spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, or former cohabitant which is also recognized in the medical and scientific community as the “Battered Woman’s Syndrome”

“Battered Spouse Syndrome” only applies in cases where a defendant has been charged with murder or manslaughter (including attempt), as well as assault in the first degree, where the victim is the alleged abuser.

“Battered Spouse Syndrome” – Is NOT a defense itself. It just allows the judge/jury to hear evidence relating to self-defense. This evidence will be admitted even if the battered spouse was the aggressor, used excessive force, or failed to retreat.

Self-Defense – Self-defense claims are divided into two types: perfect and imperfect

Homicide- Perfect Self-Defense – Is a complete defense to murder or manslaughter. If the defendant shows that he acted in perfect self-defense, he cannot be found guilty.

Homicide- Perfect Self-Defense- A perfect self-defense claims requires proof that the individual:
(1) Had reason to think he was in either imminent or immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm from his potential assailant
(2) In fact believed he was in this danger
(3) was not the aggressor and did not provoke the conflict; and
(4) used no more force than called for under the circumstances

Duty to Retreat- Deadly Force- When an individual uses defensive, deadly force outside of his home, he has a duty “to retreat or avoid danger if such means were within his power and consistent with his safety.”

Homicide – Imperfect Self-Defense – Imperfect self-defense is not a complete defense, but it does show that there was no malice in the killing. Therefore it will reduce murder to manslaughter.

Imperfect Self-Defense- Requires only that the individual actually believed he was in danger that called for the amount of force used, even if that belief was unreasonable.

Battered Spouse Syndrome- Self Defense- Violence is frequently “imminent” in battered spouse cases because “[i]n a cyclical, abusive relationship the threate[ned] violence will come to fruition—it is often only a matter of when”

Duty to Retreat- Imperfect Self-Defense- For imperfect self defense, an individual needs to show that they subjectively believed that retreat was not safe (even if that belief was unreasonable).

Self-Defense- Jury Instruction- A defendant is entitled to a jury instruction about self defense if there is any evidence which, if believed, would support a claim of self-defense.

From the case: Porter testified about her mental state on the morning of Ray’s death. She explained, “In my mind I knew he was going to kill me at any point.” Because of that, along with the evidence of Battered Spouse Syndrome, she presented “some evidence” that she actually believed that she was in imminent danger at the time her hired killer killed her husband. “It is up to the jury to decide whether to believe her.”

Imperfect self-defense – Imperfect self-defense negates the element of malice, not premeditation. The fact that violence was planned in advance does not necessarily negate a claim of imperfect-self defense.

Conspiracy and Solicitation- Imperfect Self-Defense- Imperfect self-defense is also a defense against conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation to murder charges. If there is no “malice” involved, then there can be no conspiracy/solicitation to kill with malice.