The fact that he fled, threw away his gun and tried to hide the ejected casings might have some bearing ...
People who are frightened will do things that have the appearance of defense. The throwing away of the gun has no bearing on the case as he was determined to have shot and killed Epps with witnesses in attendance. It can be assumed by the court he hid the gun and bullets in an effort to create an illusion of innocents.
Where did you get this as the article, a Forbes one, didn’t mention this?
rwood