Ala. Pattern Jury Instr. (Criminal) 13A-6-24

Reckless Endangerment

The defendant is charged with reckless endangerment.

A person commits the crime of reckless endangerment if he/she recklessly

engages in conduct which creates a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another

person.

To convict, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following

elements:

(1) The defendant engaged in conduct, [describe], which created a substantial

risk of serious physical injury to another person, [name]; (AND)

(2) The defendant did so recklessly.

Serious physical injury is physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death,

or which causes serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health,

or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ. [13A-1-2(14)]

Physical injury is impairment of physical condition or substantial pain. [13A -1-

2(12)]

A person acts recklessly in regards to his/her conduct if:

(1) The actor is aware that there is a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death

will occur;

(2) The risk of death is so great that the actor’s failure to recognize this risk is

a gross deviation from the standard of behavior to which a reasonable

person would hold himself/herself in the same situation; (AND)

(3) The actor consciously disregards this substantial and unjustifiable risk. [See

13A-2-2(3)]

[Read all appropriate - Intoxication]: A person who creates a risk, but is unaware

that he/she has created that risk solely because of voluntary intoxication, acts recklessly

with regards to that risk. Intoxication includes a disturbance of mental or physical

capacities resulting from the introduction of any substance into the body. Voluntary

intoxication means intoxication caused by substances that the actor knowingly introduced

into his/her body, the tendency of which to cause intoxication he/she knows or ought to

know, unless he/she introduces them under circumstances that would afford a defense

to the charge. Intoxication in itself does not constitute mental disease or defect.

Intoxication is generally not a defense. However, involuntary intoxication is a defense if

as a result the actor lacks capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his /her conduct

or to conform his/her conduct to the requirements of law. Intoxication, whether voluntary

or involuntary, is admissible in evidence whenever it is relevant to negate an element of

the offense charged. When recklessness establishes an element o f an offense and the

actor is unaware of a risk because of voluntary intoxication , his/her unawareness is

immaterial in a prosecution for that offense. [13A-3-2] .

If you find from the evidence that the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt

each of the above elements of reckless endangerment, then you shall find the defendant

guilty of reckless endangerment.

If you find that the State has failed to prove any one or more of the elements of

reckless endangerment, then you cannot find the defendant guilty of reckless

endangerment.