@meghannmcuniff: As of 1:45 p.m. Hawaii time (4:45 p.m. PST / 7:45 p.m. EST) today, the jury in Gerhardt Konig's attempted murder trial has been deliberating for almost eight hours with no verdict. They have much to consider. I posted earlier a clip of Judge Paul B.K. Wong reading the "lesser included" offenses of attempted first-degree assault, attempted second-degree assault and third-degree asault. @Meghann Cuniff If jurors acquit on the top charge of attempted second-degree murder, they move onto first-degree assault and so on. And if they want to convict for attempted second-degree murder, they must consider if Konig acted in self-defense, and if they conclude he didn't, they must consider if he was acting "under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance," Wong said while reading the jury instructions aloud yesterday (Tuesday, April 7). If they believe he was, then his crime is attempted manslaughter, not murder. This was discussed in trial outside the jury's presence when Deputy Prosecutor Joel Garner pointed out that Konig quickly answered he was in a "severe emotional state" when his lawyer asked him how he responded to his wife discussing her plans to keep working. Garner argued the emotional disturbance instruction shouldn't be given in Konig's case, but Judge Wong disagreed. The instruction the judge read tells jurors that "extreme mental or emotional disturbance has two elements." "These two elements are 1) the defendant was, at the time he attempted to cause the death of the other person, under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance and 2) there was a reasonable explanation for the extreme mental or emotional disturbance," Wong said. "The reasonableness of the explanation shall be determined from the viewpoint of a reasonable person in the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be. The question of defendant's self control or lack of it at the time of the offense is a significant factor in deciding whether he was under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance," the judge continued. Konig "must prove an affirmative defense by preponderance of the evidence." "This means that the defendant must prove that it is more likely than not, or more probable than not, that each element of extreme mental or emotional disturbance occurred," Wong said. "In determining whether the defendant has proven an affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence, you must consider all of the evidence that has been presented to you, regardless of who presented it. If you unanimously find that the defendant has proven the elements of the affirmative defense by preponderance of the evidence, then you must find the defendant guilty of attempted manslaughter based upon extreme mental or emotional disturbance." You can watch some of Garner’s closing argument here @Meghann Cuniff and here @Meghann Cuniff. #law #crime #court

Meghann Cuniff

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Wednesday 08 April 2026 23:51:48 GMT