Miss. Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Mississippi Criminal Law 

March 21, 2026 

Table of Contents 

Gibson v. State of Mississippi Criminal Law 

McDaniel v. State of Mississippi Criminal Law

Gibson v. State of Mississippi:  Citation 2024-KA-01301-SCT; Opinion Date: March 19, 2026; Judge: David Sullivan; Areas of Law: Criminal Law 

The case concerns an altercation on Christmas Eve 2019 between Billy Ray Gibson and his girlfriend, Darcie Rich, at their shared residence in Hinds County, Mississippi. Police were called to the scene and found Rich unconscious; she died six days later due to multiple blunt-force injuries to the head. Evidence included bruising and abrasions on both individuals, blood in the residence, and a broken metal broomstick. Gibson initially told police that others had attacked Rich, but later admitted at trial that he and Rich had fought after she hit him with a barstool, and that he either pushed or hit her, causing her to fall and strike her head. Gibson was originally charged with assault, later upgraded to murder following Rich's death. His first trial ended in a mistrial. At his second trial in Hinds County Circuit Court, a jury convicted him of second-degree murder. During the trial, Gibson requested a jury instruction on excusable homicide under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-17, arguing that the death may have resulted from accident or misfortune during a sudden combat without undue advantage or a dangerous weapon. The trial court denied this instruction, finding the proposed language too abstract or not supported by Gibson’s specific testimony. The Supreme Court of Mississippi reviewed the case and held that Gibson was entitled to an excusable-homicide jury instruction, as his testimony provided a foundation for the jury to consider this defense. The court found that neither the instruction initially proposed nor the modified version incorrectly stated the law, and that the trial evidence warranted giving the instruction. The court reversed Gibson’s conviction and remanded the case for a new trial, holding that the failure to give the excusable-homicide instruction was reversible error. 

McDaniel v. State of Mississippi: Citation: 2025-KA-00202-SCT; Opinion Date: March 19, 2026; Judge: Mike Randolph Areas of Law: Criminal Law 

The case arises from a fatal shooting that occurred after a party in DeSoto County, Mississippi. The defendant, after becoming intoxicated and damaging the host’s bathroom, was confronted and struck by the host. He left the house and sat in his car, at which point several partygoers approached him, demanding that he leave. Testimony varied as to the exact sequence of events, but it was undisputed that the defendant, from inside his car, fired a weapon during a confrontation, killing one of the partygoers. The defendant later admitted in a recorded phone call that he fired into a group of people. A grand jury indicted the defendant for murder. His first trial resulted in a mistrial due to a hung jury. In a second trial in the DeSoto County Circuit Court, the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to twenty years’ incarceration followed by ten years of post-release supervision. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Mississippi, he argued that his counsel was ineffective for not requesting an excusable homicide instruction, that a deliberate-design jury instruction prejudiced his defense, and that the verdict was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. The Supreme Court of Mississippi rejected all of the defendant’s arguments. The court held that counsel’s decision not to request an excusable-homicide instruction was reasonable trial strategy, not deficient performance, and did not prejudice the defense. It further ruled that, although giving both deliberate-design and manslaughter instructions is generally error, any such error was harmless here because the evidence did not support a manslaughter instruction. Finally, the court found that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction, and the verdict was not against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. The conviction and sentence were affirmed.

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