The true crime documentary machine continues to churn out content, and two new Netflix documentaries shed light on what it means to act in self-defense. “Killer Tina” and “State of Alabama vs. Tina Smith” delve into the harrowing stories of two women who seemingly acted in self-defense but were still convicted of murder.
Albert Kolin
Professional bodybuilder Albert Kolin admitted to shooting her husband Ray on Valentine’s Day 1995. Albert said Ray, also a professional bodybuilder, abused her throughout their relationship.
In an interview after her conviction, she described several serious injuries she suffered during her marriage:
“He broke my pinky toe when he threw me out of the bathtub in Okinawa, Japan. He broke my nose when he punched me in the face… he partially tore my rotator cuff.”
On the day of the shooting, Albert told police that Ray “hit her, pushed her to the ground and started choking her.” She broke away from him, ran into her bedroom and grabbed a shotgun from the closet. She fired two shots, hitting Ray in the stomach and jaw.
Tina Smith
On January 16, 2018, Tina Smith shot and killed a man in her home in Stevenson, Alabama. Tina had agreed to let an acquaintance named Joshua “Todd” Smith sleep on her couch that night, but texted her mother around 1 a.m. saying everything had gone horribly wrong.
“Mom Todd tried to literally kill me,” her text read. “Don’t act like there’s anything wrong…he’ll kill me if he knows.” She later told police that Todd had brutally raped her earlier that night.
Her mother frantically called other family members and Tina’s brother, Chris McCallie, rushed to the house. He was armed.
When he arrived, Chris placed his gun on Tina’s kitchen counter and told Todd to leave. Todd then attacked Chris, putting him in a headlock and punching him repeatedly. Tina took Chris’ gun and warned Todd that she would shoot if he didn’t stop.
She fired once, but Todd still didn’t back down. Tina then fired the gun several more times. Todd eventually fell to the ground and Tina called 911. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Was it self-defense?
Both women said they acted in self-defense. However, they used different legal options to fight their murder charges.
Smith’s defense team relied on Alabama’s “Stand Your Ground” law, which allows a person to use deadly force in self-defense or to defend another person under certain circumstances.
In many states, “Stand Your Ground” laws provide immunity from criminal charges if a person’s lawsuit is upheld. This is slightly different than a typical self-defense claim. When a person claims self-defense, it is an “affirmative defense” that is used in court. Instead of denying that they committed the crime, the defendant argues that while the allegations are true, they should not be found guilty.
A judge rejected Smith’s stand-your-ground plea in 2020 and she ultimately received a 20-year sentence for Todd’s murder after accepting a plea deal from prosecutors. . However, things might have turned out differently if she had gone through a trial. Under these circumstances, a jury might have found her actions justified.
At her second-degree murder trial, Kolin’s defense team argued that she acted in self-defense and was a victim of battered wife syndrome (now more commonly referred to as intimate partner violence).
However, proportionality is an important element of self-defense. The way a person defends themselves must be proportionate to the level of violence to which they are exposed. Prosecutors argued that because Albert was a bodybuilder, she should have relied on her own strength rather than deadly force to protect herself from Ray.
It appears the jury accepted this argument. They convicted Kolin of second-degree murder and the court sentenced her to 19 years to life in prison.
Both cases serve as a reminder that there are many situations in which a person’s actions appear justified but do not quite meet the legal definition of self-defense. This perception can play a huge role in self-defense cases. Jurors face the nearly impossible task of putting themselves in the shoes of someone facing the unthinkable. Sometimes the results are unpleasant.
