Criminal Practice — Voluntary Manslaughter – Jury Instruction Request – Involuntary Manslaughter – Stabbing

State v. Epps (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-06-0322, 1 p.) (Per Curiam) (Sam Ervin IV, J., not participating) Appealed from Gaston County Superior Court (Hugh B. Lewis, J.) On appeal from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct.

Holding: We affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals (The trial court was not required to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter in this case where defendant and the victim engaged in a drunken brawl outside defendant’s house, defendant retreated indoors, and — when the victim approached the house — defendant picked up a knife and fatally stabbed the victim in the chest through a closed screen door. Defendant’s conduct was entirely voluntary.).