Where admissions by an accused establish participation in a 'bashing' but do not establish the accused's specific role or state of mind, the evidence may be sufficient for manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act but insufficient for murder. The use of plural pronouns ('we bashed') in admissions does not, of itself, establish that the accused personally wielded the weapon. A trial judge must leave manslaughter as an alternative verdict even where neither party requests it, if the evidence is capable of supporting that verdict but not murder.
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