Commonwealth v. Graves
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
334 A.2d 661 (1975)
On September 28, 1971, Daniel Lee Graves and his cousins, Thomas and Edward Mathis, pursuant to a plan devised beforehand, burglarized the home of Sebastiano Patiri, a 75-year-old man, and robbed him. Patiri sustained injuries during the encounter that later caused his death. Graves had consumed wine and taken a hallucinogen earlier that day and claimed at trial that he could not recall the events, offering voluntary intoxication as a defense meant to negate the mental state required for first-degree murder. A jury convicted Graves of first-degree murder, robbery, and burglary, and after post-trial motions were denied, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder conviction.
Whether evidence of voluntary intoxication may be used to negate the specific intent required for the crimes of burglary and robbery, rather than merely to reduce the degree of an offense that already requires specific intent.