STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MATTHEW COLE WELCH - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MATTHEW COLE WELCH

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 21, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Michael J. Flanagan, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Matthew Cole Welch.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Ray Crouch, Jr., District Attorney General; and Talmadge Woodall, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Matthew Cole Welch, Defendant, was indicted for first degree murder and aggravated assault. After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of the lesser included offense of second degree murder and not guilty of aggravated assault. The trial court denied a motion for new trial and Defendant appealed, arguing that the evidence was not sufficient to support the conviction for second degree murder and that the trial court erred by refusing to charge the jury with a self-defense instruction. After a review, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to sustain the conviction for second degree murder and that Defendant was not entitled to a self-defense instruction where the proof established that Defendant had a duty to retreat and failed to do so. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

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