Edwards, Keith Wayne, PD-0224-15

Defendant Keith Wayne Edwards was indicted for murder after stabbing Samuel Anderson with a piece of broken glass on a DART train; Anderson later died from severed carotid arteries.
Event sequence: verbal/physical altercation on the train between Edwards, Anderson, and Ramirez; Edwards swung a bag, exited train, attempted to reboard, and jabbed Anderson through the train door.
Recording(s) from a passenger and platform video were admitted; recordings show portions of the confrontation but do not capture every moment.
Edwards testified Anderson displayed a small-caliber pistol, threatened to shoot him, kicked and called him names, and Edwards jabbed because he feared being shot; Edwards also admitted provocation and anger.
The jury convicted Edwards of the lesser-included offense of manslaughter (recklessness) and sentenced him to 11 years; Edwards appealed claiming evidence was legally insufficient because his self-defense claim could not reasonably be rejected.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was legally sufficient to support manslaughter conviction given Edwards's claim of self-defense	Edwards: No rational juror could reject his self-defense testimony; evidence conclusively supports justification	State: Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational juror could disbelieve Edwards, find recklessness, and reject self-defense	Court affirmed: a rational jury could find all elements of manslaughter and discredit self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for legal sufficiency review)
Saxton v. State, 804 S.W.2d 910 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (sufficiency review when self-defense asserted)
Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (Jackson standard is controlling)
Montgomery v. State, 369 S.W.3d 188 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (appellate duty to ensure evidence supports verdict)
Chambers v. State, 805 S.W.2d 459 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (factfinder determines credibility)
Wise v. State, 364 S.W.3d 900 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (deference to jury on credibility)