Anderson v. State, 79 So. 3d 501

Anderson (aka Wise) was convicted of murder in Holmes County for the death of Darnell Smith.
Defense sought jury instructions for manslaughter as a lesser-included offense; court denied, and self-defense instruction was given.
Multiple eyewitnesses testified, with conflicting accounts of whether a verbal altercation occurred and whether Smith drew a weapon.
Anderson gave varying statements to police; his statements suggested a possible self-defense claim but also admissions of shooting.
Dr. Gruszecki testified Smith had ten gunshot wounds; one wound was potentially fatal, with evidence of a close-range shot and intoxication.
The court affirmed the murder conviction, holding the evidence did not create a reasonable basis for a manslaughter instruction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred in denying manslaughter instructions	Anderson argues evidence supported manslaughter	State contends words alone cannot justify manslaughter	No error; evidence insufficient to justify manslaughter instruction

Mease v. State, 539 So. 2d 1324 (Miss. 1989) (standard for instructing on lesser-included offenses)
Williams v. State, 53 So. 3d 734 (Miss. 2010) (how to assess evidentiary basis for instruction)
Downs v. State, 962 So. 2d 1255 (Miss. 2007) (de novo review for lesser-included offense questions)
State v. Shaw, 880 So. 2d 296 (Miss. 2004) (indictment includes lesser offenses; murder includes manslaughter)
Ruffin v. State, 444 So. 2d 839 (Miss. 1984) (reversal where heated-argument context warranted manslaughter instruction in Ruffin)
Gates v. State, 484 So.2d 1002 (Miss. 1986) (mere provocative words insufficient to reduce to manslaughter)
Phillips v. State, 794 So.2d 1034 (Miss. 2001) (malice may be inferred from use of a deadly weapon; words alone insufficient)
McCune v. State, 989 So.2d 310 (Miss. 2008) (heat of passion defined; interplay with self-defense)