Attorneys wrapped up a two-week trial Tuesday for a Napa State Hospital patient accused of manslaughter in the stabbing of another patient with the sharpened end of a hair brush.

A jury is now deciding whether George Aaron Carver is guilty of voluntary manslaughter or if the March killing of David Wengell was in self defense. Prosecutors originally charged Carver with murder, but Napa County Superior Court Judge Diane Price dismissed that charge mid-trial, at the request of Napa County Deputy Public Defender Joseph Solga.

Wengell had confronted Carver in the TV room in a hospital unit, and threw the first punch in the encounter. Carver struck him in the eye with the end of a hair brush, which he had shaved to a point.

Wengell suffered brain damage and died later at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

If Carver is convicted, the trial would move to a second phase to determine if he was sane at the time of the slaying. He faces a maximum sentence of 11 years, or 22 years if a jury affirms that he has a previous strike on his record.

On Tuesday, each attorney had one last shot at convincing the jury of his version of events.

Napa County Deputy District Attorney Gary Van Camp spelled out the components of the law.

Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional act that causes the death of another, or one where the death is a natural consequence of an act.

The law allows self defense only if the defendant reasonably believed he was in imminent danger and that the use of deadly force was necessary.

In this case, Van Camp said, Carver fashioned the hairbrush to a point in advance and was simply waiting for an opportunity to use it.

Van Camp acknowledged that Wengell had a history of assaulting people. However, he argued Wengell hadn’t assaulted anyone since being transferred to the unit. Carver also didn’t know of that history.

Carver never complained to staff that Wengell had threatened or intimidated him, Van Camp said.

“He took matters into his old hands when he decided to work down the end of one of these hair brushes to the point it was a deadly weapon,” he said.

Carver saw himself as the “peacemaker” on the unit, who was responsible for keeping others on the unit safe, he said.

Van Camp quoted an interview police conducted with Carver following the fight, when Carver said, “I didn’t get hurt to do it, but I’m not gonna be hurt by him and I’m not gonna let him hurt nobody else, and I’m not gonna feel bad about it.”

Carver admitted to stabbing Wengell after Wengell confronted him. He went for the most vulnerable spot possible: the tender area under the eyebrow, Van Camp said.

After the fight, Carver left the TV room, tossed the hair brush down the hall and said, “He’s a dead man,” Van Camp recounted.

“He had accomplished his mission,” he said. “He had taken him out. He had protected the unit. He had protected the women. He was the peacemaker.”

Solga countered that there is no way Carver could have planned Wengell’s attack on him. He fashioned the hair brush out of fear after Wengell threatened to knock him out and stomp on him.

Solga said even staffers at the hospital were afraid of Wengell, who had a mental illness in which he heard voices of his “enemies” and believed the only way to fend them off was with violence.

Not only did he reasonably believe Wengell was a threat, he was right, Solga said.

“He accurately and correctly assessed that he was in grave danger,” he said.

Carver was acting instinctively when he swung at Wengell, who was charging him as he moved backwards, according to Solga.

“There’s nothing wrong with a human being relying on their instinct when they’re under assault,” he said.

Carver stabbed him only once and then backed down, he said.

“As soon as the danger ended the force ended,” Solga said, adding that then Carver went and told staff Wengell needed help.

In Van Camp’s rebuttal, he argued again that Carver was not acting on impulse.

 “It took some work,” Van Camp said. “It took some thinking and some planning and some resources to get that ready as a weapon.”