Supreme Court upholds dismissal of Casper murder case on the basis of stand-your-ground immunity law

he Wyoming Supreme Court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a first-degree murder case against a Casper man on the basis of a new stand-your-ground law.

The ruling means Jason T. John will not face further prosecution for shooting and killing another man in August 2018 as the man ran into John’s trailer home.

The appellate court found as well that the law under which Natrona County District Court Judge Catherine Wilking dismissed the case — which was only a month old at the time of the shooting and that had never before been tested in court — provides immunity from prosecution for those who’ve acted under the “stand-your-ground” and, like John, “castle doctrine” provisions of the law.

Although the “castle doctrine” provision already existed under Wyoming law as a defense, the court ruled that the immunity provision means judges can consider the issue once defendants have made a face-value demonstration of their right to the protection. Prosecutors will be required at a special hearing to show by a preponderance of the evidence that immunity does not apply.