Till v. Mississippi

Till v. Mississippi (1985) was a Supreme Court case addressing whether a defendant's request for a jury to consider a lesser offense, like manslaughter instead of murder, must be honored. The Court ruled that trial courts do not have to give that specific instruction if there is no evidence supporting the lesser charge. In this case, the defendant wanted the jury to consider manslaughter, but the Court decided that since there was insufficient evidence, the judge was not required to instruct the jury on that option. The ruling emphasizes the importance of evidence supporting lesser charges for them to be considered by the jury.