People v. Register

457 N.E.2d 704 (1983)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Register (D) and a friend, Duval, had been drinking heavily celebrating the fact that Duval would not have to spend the weekend in jail. They had arrived at the bar around seven that evening. D took a loaded pistol with him when he went to the bar and had produced it when he got into an argument with another person over money owed. That dispute ended without incident. After midnight, another argument developed between Duval and a Mitchell. D took out the gun again and shot at Mitchell but mistakenly injured Lawrence Evans who was trying to stop the fight. D then stepped forward and shot Mitchell in the stomach at close range. The 40-50 patrons in the bar started for the door while some tried to get Mitchell to the hospital. A Marvin Lindsey, who was an acquaintance of D, walked by D and for no apparent reason D shot him and killed him. D did not contest the shooting but entered evidence from an expert to show the effects of alcohol. D requested the court to instruct the jury on the effects of intoxication, and that was done with respect to the intentional murder charge but not to the depraved mind murder. The jury acquitted D of intentional murder but convicted him of depraved mind murder. D appealed: depraved heart murder requires circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life which in effect elevates manslaughter to murder, and as such, this additional element should be negatived by evidence of intoxication.