United States v. Axelson

Major Carl W. Axelson, Jr. (defendant) took his wife and his two infant sons for a drive in the hills overlooking Athens, Greece. At some point, Axelson stopped the vehicle and asked his wife to check on their three-month-old son, who was in the back seat. Axelson’s wife got out of the vehicle to check on the baby. While she was leaning over the baby’s car seat, Axelson repeatedly beat her with a wooden club. Axelson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon. At his providence inquiry, Axelson claimed that he had exited the car, walked a short distance, and turned around to see his wife holding a pillow over the baby’s face. The next thing Axelson remembered was striking his wife with the club, but he did not remember the rest of the attack. The military judge explained the elements of the assault charge, and Axelson agreed that, although he did not recall committing the entire attack, he was convinced based on the evidence that he had committed each element of the offense. The judge accepted Axelson’s guilty plea, and he was subsequently tried for and convicted of attempted premeditated murder. At trial, Axelson argued that he did not recall committing the entire attack. On appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeals, Axelson argued that his statement during the providence inquiry and the evidence he presented at trial raised the defenses of partial mental responsibility and automatism. According to Axelson, the judge erred because the judge did not, sua sponte, recognize these defenses and explain them during the providence inquiry, nor did he instruct the members of the court-martial, sua sponte, on the defense of automatism at his trial.