Burrows v. State

Eighteen-year-old Richard Burrows (defendant), stranded and trying to make his way home, accepted a ride from Jack Martin, who began drinking en route; when a gas-station attendant suggested Burrows drive because Martin seemed too intoxicated, Martin agreed, but Burrows testified Martin had earlier forced him to drink liquor by threatening to leave him stranded on the roadside if he refused. A few miles into driving, Burrows shot and killed Martin, took his money, hid the body, and fled, testifying he was too dazed from the alcohol to realize what he'd done. Convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, Burrows appealed, arguing involuntary intoxication as a defense.