Proposed Mississippi Plain Language Model Jury Instructions - Criminal 2724

[Name of defendant] is charged in count ____ with manslaughter.

If you find beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence in this case that:

1. On or about [date of alleged crime], in ____________ County;

2. [Name of defendant] unlawfully and without deliberate design killed [name of victim], a

human being in the heat of passion:

A. In a cruel or unusual manner by ________________ [describe defendant’s alleged

actions]; or

B. By using a deadly weapon to ________________ [describe defendant’s alleged

actions]; and

3. [Name of defendant] was not acting in self-defense,

then you shall find [name of defendant] guilty as charged.

If the State did not prove any one of the above listed elements beyond a reasonable doubt,

then you shall find [name of defendant] not guilty of count ____.

Definition(s) in this Instruction:

In this instruction, “deliberate design” means a person decides to unlawfully kill another

person, and there is no legally justifiable or excusable reason for doing so. The decision to kill a

person can be formed very quickly and may occur only moments before the actual act of killing.

However, deliberate design cannot be formed at the exact moment of the act of killing.

In this instruction, “heat of passion” means a person acts in a state of violent and

uncontrollable rage. The person must have been provoked into acting in such a manner by some

act(s) or word(s) which would reasonably lead to an angry, hateful, resentful, or terrified

emotional state of mind.