People v. Steele

California Court of Appeal Dec 15, 1988 No. A040826Published

Before: White

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Holding. The court held that a trial court is not required to instruct a jury on the defense of duress in an escape case unless there is evidence that the threats against the defendant were accompanied by a demand that the defendant commit the escape.

Issues

Whether the trial court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on the defense of duress in a prison escape case.

Disposition. affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“The defense of duress, unlike the necessity justification, requires that the threat or menace be accompanied by a direct or implied demand that the defendant commit the criminal act charged.”

“In the present case there is absolutely no evidence the alleged threats were accompanied by an implied demand that Steele escape.”

Opinion

WHITE, P. J.

Defendant Douglas Steele appeals after a jury convicted him of escape from state prison without force or violence. (Pen. Code, § 4530, subd. (b).) He contends the trial court erred when it refused to instruct on the defense of duress. We find the trial court properly refused the duress instruction and therefore affirm the judgment.

Facts

Department of Corrections Officer Douglas Roe was supervising the return of inmates from a yard at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville

[705]

when he saw the defendant, Douglas Steele, break from a group of inmates and run towards the perimeter fences. Officer Roe immediately radioed the guards in Towers 2 and 3 and informed them that an inmate was attempting to escape.

Steele ran straight for the 12-foot inner perimeter fence, scaled it, flattened the razor wire at the top, and climbed over. As he was running towards the outer perimeter fence, the guard in Tower 3 fired a warning shot between the two fences. Undaunted, Steele continued to run and scaled the outer perimeter fence. As he was flattening out the razor wire at the top of the outer fence the guard in Tower 3 shot Steele in the buttocks and he fell to the ground. Prison officials later found a pair of cotton gloves caught in the razor wire at the top of the inner perimeter fence.

Defense

The defendant contended he escaped because he feared other inmates in the yard were about to stab him. He testified that on the morning before his escape someone slipped a note into his cell which read: “We’re gonna get you. We’re gonna stab you.” Later that morning, he overheard someone say, “How come you haven’t done him yet?” Steele believed this statement referred to him.

Later that afternoon, while Steele was leaving the prison yard, he overheard another inmate behind him say, “Stick him.” Steele then “felt” that a group of inmates was moving toward him; because he feared he was about to be stabbed, he bolted for the fence. He did not hear the warning shot and climbed the nearest portion of the fence without looking behind him or toward the towers.

People v. Steele

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WHITE, P. J.

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