Commonwealth v. Acevedo

Acevedo (defendant) got into an escalating altercation at a party that turned physical; prosecution witnesses said he fought McCullough one-on-one and stabbed him after being hit, while defense witnesses said Acevedo was attacked by multiple people, knocked down, and pulled a knife while trying to fend them off. The trial judge instructed the jury on self-defense, involuntary manslaughter, and excessive-force manslaughter, but never on voluntary manslaughter based on reasonable provocation, and told the jury no mitigating circumstances beyond excessive self-defense force could be considered; the jury convicted Acevedo of second-degree murder, and his motion for a new trial was denied.