United States v. Roston
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
986 F.2d 1287 (1993)
- Written by Heather Whittemore, JD
Facts
Scott Robin Roston (defendant) was charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Karen Roston, after Karen went overboard on a cruise ship and died. In the hours before Karen’s death, witnesses saw Scott arguing with Karen for eating sweets and for not knowing which utensils to use at dinner. Evidence suggested that Karen was strangled prior to her death, and that she drowned after falling into the water while unconscious. After Karen’s death, Scott was found to have scratches on his face, indicating a struggle between the two. At trial, the district court gave jury instructions on second-degree murder, explaining that the jury could convict Scott of second-degree murder if it found that he had killed his wife with malice. The jury was not instructed on voluntary manslaughter, a lesser included offense of second-degree murder that occurs if a person was adequately provoked into killing another person. The jury found Scott guilty of second-degree murder. Scott appealed his conviction, arguing that a rational jury could not have found that he killed Karen with malice, and that the district court had erred by not giving a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Thompson, J.)
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