State v. Schroeder

Mark Schroeder (defendant) shared a prison cell with three other prisoners. Schroeder was afraid of cellmate Gary Riggs, who had a reputation for sex and violence and put Schroeder in a subservient position. Schroeder had been gambling with Riggs and owed him about $3,000. Riggs had threatened to sell the debt to another prisoner to make Schroeder a punk, meaning a prisoner who engages in homosexual acts with others. Schroeder and his two other cellmates requested moving Riggs to another cell in writing to no avail. The next night, Schroeder and Riggs played cards until about 10 p.m. Schroeder said that before Riggs went to sleep, Riggs said he might walk in his sleep and “collect some of this money I got owed to me tonight.” Schroeder went to bed but evidently could not fall asleep because of what Riggs had said. Schroeder got up about 1 a.m. and stabbed Riggs, who was still asleep, with a knife made from a table knife. When Riggs woke up and tried to remove the knife, Schroeder hit Riggs in the face several times with a metal ashtray. Someone called the guards, who took Riggs to the hospital. Schroeder was charged with stabbing with intent to kill and requested a jury instruction on self-defense, but the trial judge refused to give the instruction. The jury convicted Schroeder of the lesser offense of assault with intent to inflict great bodily injury, and he was sentenced to two to three more years in prison. Schroeder appealed, arguing the trial judge should have given the self-defense instruction.