Ruben B. Green v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.), 49A04-1510-PC-1685

Ruben B. Green was convicted of murder for the beating and death of Sharon Glass; autopsy showed severe blunt force trauma, fractured skull severing carotid arteries, neck injuries consistent with strangulation, facial injuries matching boot soles, and defensive wounds.
Green claimed self-defense at trial; the jury received Final Instruction 21-K (self-defense) and 21-J (limiting instruction for prior bad acts). Jury convicted; Green received a 60-year sentence.
On direct appeal the conviction was affirmed. Green later sought post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel for failing to object to Instruction 21-K and for not raising the issue on appeal.
Trial counsel did not object to Instruction 21-K or tender an alternative self-defense instruction; appellate counsel did not raise Instruction 21-K on direct appeal.
The post-conviction court denied relief; the Court of Appeals affirmed, finding no prejudice from counsel’s failures given overwhelming evidence and alternative ways the State negated self-defense.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Trial counsel ineffective for failing to object to Final Instruction 21-K / failing to tender a self-defense instruction	Instruction 21-K omitted required causal language linking the defendant’s purported crime to the confrontation; omission was prejudicial	Any defect was harmless because evidence of excessive force, initial aggression, and lack of reasonable fear overwhelmingly refuted self-defense	Denied — no prejudice: overwhelming evidence made it unlikely proper wording would change outcome
Appellate counsel ineffective for not raising Instruction 21-K on direct appeal	Appellate counsel should have raised the instruction error as fundamental error	Even if raised, the omission would not have succeeded because there was no grave peril or reasonable likelihood of a different verdict	Denied — failure to raise was not prejudicial; issue not clearly stronger than those chosen to be raised

Fisher v. State, 810 N.E.2d 674 (Ind. 2004) (post-conviction petitioner bears burden to prove grounds for relief)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
Grinstead v. State, 845 N.E.2d 1027 (Ind. 2006) (definition of reasonable probability for prejudice prong)
Ben–Yisrayl v. State, 729 N.E.2d 102 (Ind. 2000) (standard of review for post-conviction factual findings)
Mayes v. State, 744 N.E.2d 390 (Ind. 2001) (when a defendant’s criminal conduct negates self-defense, there must be causal connection)
Hollowell v. State, 19 N.E.3d 263 (Ind. 2014) (standard for reviewing post-conviction denial; appellate counsel claims reviewed under Strickland)