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STATE v. ALLERY
101 Wn.2d 591 (1984)
The Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.
May 17, 1984.
Defendant contends this instruction did not adequately convey the subjective standard applied to self-defense. The jury was not instructed to evaluate self-defense in the light of all circumstances known to the defendant, including those known before the homicide. State v. Wanrow,88 Wn.2d 221, 559 P.2d 548 (1977).1 We agree. [1] The justification of self-defense must be evaluated from the defendant's point of view as conditions appeared to her at the time of the act. State v. McCullum,98 Wn.2d 484, 656 P.2d 1064 (1983). The jurors must understand that, in considering the issue of self-defense, they must place themselves in the shoes of the defendant and judge the legitimacy of her act in light of all that she knew at the time. All of these facts and circumstances should have been placed before the jury, to the end that they could put themselves in the place of the appellant, get the point of view which he had at the time of the tragedy, and view the conduct of the [deceased] with all its pertinent sidelights as the appellant was warranted in viewing it. In no other way could the jury safely say what a reasonably prudent man similarly situated would have done. State v. Wanrow, supra at 235-36, quoting from State v. Tribett, 74 Wn. 125, 130, 132 P. 875 (1913). In the instant case, the jury was instructed to consider the self-defense issue in terms of the defendant's reasonable apprehension of danger as circumstances appeared to
her at the time of the incident. On its face, the instruction adequately conveys the subjective self-defense standard. See WPIC 16.02 (1977). However, standing by itself, without additional instructions from the trial court, this instruction does not make the subjective self-defense standard "`manifestly apparent to the average juror.'" State v. Painter,27 Wn.App. 708, 713, 620 P.2d 1001 (1980), quoting State v. Fischer,23 Wn.App. 756, 759, 598 P.2d 742 (1979). The instruction is inadequate because it does not instruct the jury to consider the conditions as they appeared to the slayer, taking into consideration all the facts and circumstances known to the slayer at the time and prior to the incident. State v. Wanrow, supra. Defendant's theory of the case was that her intimate familiarity with her husband's history of violence convinced her that she was in serious danger at the time the shooting occurred. There was substantial evidence of the history of violence throughout the marriage between defendant and the victim. The jury should have been instructed to consider the self-defense issue from the defendant's perspective in light of all that she knew and had experienced with the victim. State v. Wanrow, supra. III
1. Defendant proposed the following additional instructions on self-defense:
Instruction 9: "In judging Sherrie Allery's action you should attempt to place yourself in her position at the time of the incident. You should therefore consider her past and present knowledge, her beliefs, the relative size and strength of the participants, Wayne Allery's words and actions prior to the shooting, the history of their marital relationship, and all other factors bearing on the reasonableness of her actions and her apprehensions at the time as they appeared to her." Instruction 17: "In judging Sherrie Allery's actions, you should attempt to place yourself, as a reasonable person, in her position at the time of the incident. You should therefore consider all the facts and circumstances known to her, including those known substantially before the incident." 2. Defendant's proposed instruction 6 stated:
"It is lawful for a woman who is in a place where she has a right to be who has reasonable grounds for believing she is being attacked to stand her ground and defend herself from such an attack. She need not attempt to retreat." 3. ER 404(b) provides:
"Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident."
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