People v. Guy

This case presents question as to whether jury properly convicted defendant of both second-degree murder of one victim and attempted first-degree murder of second victim during incident in which second-degree murder victim confronted defendant, and defendant responded by blindly shooting second-degree murder victim and by shooting attempted-first-degree murder victim/bystander. Appellate Court found that jury had rendered inconsistent verdict that required vacatur of attempted first-degree conviction, where: (1) jury found defendant guilty of second-degree murder for series of shots when defendant’s intent had not changed when shooting both victims; and (2) jury in finding defendant guilty of second-degree murder, necessarily found existence of mitigating factor of unreasonable belief in need for self-defense. In its petition for leave of appeal, State argued that defendant’s convictions for second-degree murder and attempted first-degree attempted murder were not inconsistent, and that evidence of mitigating factors did not negate mental state required for attempted first-degree murder charge.