At the beginning of the trial for Stephen Stidd Tuesday morning in McKean County Court, Senior Judge John Cleland filled in the jurors on their legal responsibilities in the case.

“You are now about to perform one of the highest duties of citizenship, to sit in judgment of a fellow citizen,” he said.

Cleland explained the burden is on the prosecution to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and gave them what he called a “preview of the legal issues” in the homicide case. He said the jury will have to consider what the prosecution proves — murder in the first degree, murder in the third degree and voluntary manslaughter. And it’s up to the prosecution to disprove the defense assertion of self defense.

Cleland said what isn’t at issue is that “the defendant used a pistol to shoot a man named Melvin Bizzarro, and Melvin Bizzarro died as a result. What is in dispute is the circumstances in which that occurred.

“The defense will present evidence and argue that it was self defense,” the judge said.

For a conviction of murder in the first degree, the prosecution must prove Bizzarro was killed, Stidd killed him, he did so intentionally, it was premeditated and it was not self defense, the judge explained,

For third-degree murder, the prosecution must prove Bizzarro was killed, Stidd killed him and while he may not have intended to kill him, the shooting “demonstrated extreme indifference to the value of human life, and was not self defense,” Cleland explained.

Voluntary manslaughter, the judge explained, would also require proof that Stidd killed Bizzarro, had intended to kill him and “unreasonably believed self defense was necessary,” the judge said.

And when it comes to self defense, the prosecution must prove the following: “The defendant did not really believe he was in danger of death or bodily injury;” that if the defendant believed he was in danger, that belief was unreasonable; the victim hadn’t provoked the defendant; and the defendant could have avoided shooting the victim by safely backing away from the altercation, the judge explained.

When testimony concludes, Cleland will give instructions to the jury before they begin deliberations in the case. Currently, the case is expected to last through Tuesday of next week.