State of West Virginia v. Kevin Lane Putnam, 16-0557

Shortly after midnight on Feb. 10, 2015, Kevin Lane Putnam shot and killed his brother Steven at their parents’ home; victim died of a .22-caliber gunshot to the chest.
Police found no blood in the victim’s car, a fired .22 cartridge and bullet fragment in the house, and multiple firearms in parents’ bedroom; the rifle used in the shooting was not recovered.
Putnam initially told officers the victim arrived already shot, but in a recorded statement admitted getting a long gun from his parents’ bedroom and firing two shots, saying he "lost it" and didn’t know a .22 could kill.
At trial the State presented medical, forensic, and several eyewitness accounts (including the girlfriend who testified the victim was the aggressor); defense rested without witnesses.
Jury convicted Putnam of voluntary manslaughter; court denied motions for acquittal and new trial and sentenced him to 15 years. Putnam appealed.

Issue	State's Argument	Putnam's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence / self-defense	Evidence (admission, lies, disparity of injuries, missing rifle) supports voluntary manslaughter verdict	Self-defense justified; verdict unsupported beyond a reasonable doubt	Affirmed — evidence sufficient to support conviction; credibility questions for jury
Refusal to send Instruction No. 15 (lesser-included / reasonable doubt as to grade) with Instruction No. 1	Court properly exercised discretion; jury asked only for elements instruction	Jury should have received Instruction 15 with 1 to emphasize resolving doubts in defendant’s favor	Affirmed — no abuse of discretion in responding to jurors’ specific request
Refusal to give proposed self-defense Instructions Nos. 20 & 24 (occupant/intruder doctrine)	No factual support that Putnam was a lawful occupant or victim an unlawful intruder	Mother’s testimony made Putnam a lawful occupant and victim an intruder; instructions required	Affirmed — record did not support instruction elements; court did not abuse discretion
Admission of .22-250 rifle into evidence and jury room	Admission harmless; expert said rifle not tied to bullet; verdict unaffected	Rifle irrelevant and prejudicial; should have been excluded and not sent to jury	Court erred in admitting rifle but error was harmless because expert disavowed any connection; conviction stands

State v. Guthrie, 194 W.Va. 657, 461 S.E.2d 163 (1995) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence in criminal cases)
State v. Shabazz, 206 W.Va. 555, 526 S.E.2d 521 (1999) (discussing Allen charge context)
State v. Lutz, 183 W.Va. 234, 395 S.E.2d 478 (1990) (trial court discretion to send written jury instructions)
Casto v. Martin, 159 W.Va. 761, 230 S.E.2d 722 (1976) (appellate review of trial court evidentiary rulings)
State v. Huffman, 141 W.Va. 55, 87 S.E.2d 541 (1955) (abuse of discretion standard for admitting evidence)
Starcher v. South Penn Oil Co., 81 W.Va. 587, 95 S.E. 28 (1918) (harmless-error principle for admission of improper evidence)
Torrence v. Kusminsky, 185 W.Va. 734, 408 S.E.2d 684 (1991) (reiterating harmless-error rule)
Allen v. United States, 164 U.S. 492 (1896) (authority for supplemental jury charge to encourage consensus)