United States v. Terry Lee Wood

The sole issue on appeal is Wood’s claim that the district court erred in excluding evidence offered in support of Wood’s defense that his carrying a knife within the prison was the product of coercion.

The elements of the defense are set forth in United States v. Gordon, 526 F.2d 406, 407 (9th Cir. 1975): “For a defendant to successfully urge duress as a defense, he must show that the threat and the fear which the threat caused were immediate and involved death or serious bodily injury. He must also show that the fear was well-grounded and that there was no reasonable opportunity to escape.”

Wood offered to prove that on December 11, 1976, a fight broke out in the TV room at the Federal Correctional Institution in Lompoc. Wood was then present in the TV room. On December 12, 1976, groups of blacks were milling about the institution yard, and one black inmate told Wood “the fight was not over.” Later that afternoon, while Wood was napping in his cell, a group of four blacks came to the cell. While one of the four remained in the corridor, the others threatened to beat and to sexually attack Wood, and two of the men appeared to reach into their coats, causing Wood to believe that…