## I N T H E C O U R T O F C R I M I N A L A P P E A L S

O F T E X A S

N O

. P D

- 1 6 9 9

- 1 3

C Y N T H I A A N N H U D S O N

, A p p e l l a n t

v

.

T H E S T A T E O F T E X A S

O N A P P E L L A N T ’ S & S T A T E ’ S

P E T I T I O N S F O R D I S C R E T I O N A R Y R E V I E W

F R O M T H E S I X T H C O U R T O F A P P E A L S

C A S S C O U N T Y

H E R V E Y

, J

. , d e l i v e r e d t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e C o u r t i n w h i c h K E L L E R

, P

. J

. , P R IC E

,

W O M A C K

, J O H N S O N

, K E A S L E R

, C O C H R A N

, a n d A L C A L A

, J J

. , j o i n e d

. M E Y E R S

, J

. ,

f i l e d a d i s s e n t i n g o p i n i o n

.

O P I N I O N

A j u r y c o n v i c t e d A p p e l l a n t o f c a p i t a l m u r d e r a n d a s s e s s e d h e r p u n i s h m e n t a t l i f e

i m p r i s o n m e n t w i t h o u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f p a r o l e

. H e r c o n v i c t i o n w a s a f f i r m e d b y t h e S i x t h

C o u r t o f A p p e a l s a f

t e r r e m a n d f

r o m t h i s C o u r t

. W e g r a n t e d r e v i e w t o e x a m i n e t h e c o u r t

o f a p p e a l s ’ s h o l d i n g t h a t A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n

m a n s l a u g h t e r a n d

, i f n e c e s s a r y

, t o r e c o n s i d e r o u r j u r i s p r u d e n c e o n l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e dHudson –2

o f f e n s e s

. H o w e v e r

, b e c a u s e w e a g r e e w i t h t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s t h a t A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t

e n t i t l e d t o t h e l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n

, w e w i l l a f f i r m i t s j u d g m e n t

.

A p p e l l a n t w a s c h a r g e d w i t h c a p i t a l m u r d e r ( i n t e n t i o n a l m u r d e r i n t h e c o u r s e o f

c o m m i t t i n g o r a t t e m p t i n g t o c o m m i t k i d n a p p i n g ) f o r c o n f i n i n g h e r t h e n t h i r t e e n

- y e a r

- o l d

a d o p t e d s o n S a m u e l t o h i s r o o m b y b i n d i n g h i s h a n d s a n d f e e t a n d b e a t i n g h i m t o d e a t h 1

“ w i t h a c o r d

, a m o p h a n d l e

, a b r o o m h a n d l e

, a r a k e

, a b a s e b a l l b a t

, a n d b y w i t h h o l d i n g

f o o d ” f r o m h i m w h e n s h e w a s l e g a l l y o b l i g a t e d a s S a m u e l ’ s p a r e n t t o p r o v i d e h i m f o o d

.

S e e T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 1 9

. 0 3 ( a ) ( 2 )

. A p p e l l a n t ’ s d e f e n s i v e t h e o r y a t t r i a l w a s t h a t s h e d i d

n o t c o m m i t m u r d e r o r k i d n a p p i n g

, a n d s h e a c c u s e d a n o t h e r o n e o f h e r a d o p t e d c h i l d r e n

,

G a r y

, o f k i l l i n g S a m u e l

. A t t h e c h a r g e c o n f e r e n c e

, a n d d e s p i t e A p p e l l a n t ’ s d e f e n s i v e

t h e o r y t h a t s h e h a d n o t h i n g t o d o w i t h S a m u e l ’ s d e a t h

, A p p e l l a n t a s k e d f o r a n i n s t r u c t i o n

o n m a n s l a u g h t e r b a s e d o n e v i d e n c e a d d u c e d a t t r i a l t h a t A p p e l l a n t w a s o n l y d i s c i p l i n i n g

S a m u e l

, b u t t h e d i s c i p l i n e w e n t t o o f a r ( i

. e

. , s h e r e c k l e s s l y c a u s e d S a m u e l ’ s d e a t h )

. T h a t

r e q u e s t w a s d e n i e d

, a l t h o u g h t h e j u r y w a s c h a r g e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a c h i l d a n d

i n t e n t i o n a l m u r d e r

, a n d i t w a s g i v e n a “ b e n e f i t o f t h e d o u b t ” i n s t r u c t i o n

. T h e j u r y 2

c o n v i c t e d A p p e l l a n t o f c a p i t a l m u r d e r

, a n d s h e w a s s e n t e n c e d t o c o n f i n e m e n t f

o r l i f e

w i t h o u t t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f p a r o l e

. S e e T E X

. C O D E C R IM

. P R O C

. a r t

. 3 7

. 0 7 1

, § 1

.

We continue to use the pseudony ms used in the court of a

ppeals opinion. 1

The “ benef

it of the doubt” instruction in this case instructe d the jury that, if it found that 2

Appellant wa s g uilty

of any of the thre e off

enses, but it had a r easona ble doubt as to which

offe nse Appe llant was g uilty of, the jury

“must resolve tha t doubt in [ Appellant]’s favor and find

her g uilty of the lesse r-include d offe nse of injury to a child.”Hudson –3

O n a p p e a l

, t h e S i x t h C o u r t o f A p p e a l s r e v e r s e d a n d r e m a n d e d a f t e r h o l d i n g t h a t

A p p e l l a n t w a s e n t i t l e d t o a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d

- o f f e n s e i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

, a n d t h a t

s h e w a s h a r m e d b y i t s e x c l u s i o n f r o m t h e j u r y c h a r g e

. S e e H u d s o n v

. S t a t e

, 3 6 6 S

. W

. 3 d

8 7 8

, 8 8 9

– 9 2 ( T e x

. A p p

. — T e x a r k a n a 2 0 1 2 ) [ h e r e i n a f t e r H u d s o n I ]

, r e v ’ d b y

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d

5 2 2 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 3 ) [ h e r e i n a f t e r H u d s o n I I ]

. W e s u b s e q u e n t l y g r a n t e d t h e S t a t e ’ s

p e t i t i o n f o r r e v i e w a n d r e v e r s e d a n d r e m a n d e d f o r t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s t o r e a n a l y z e

, i n

l i g h t o f t h i s C o u r t ’ s c a s e l a w

, w h e t h e r t h e A p p e l l a n t w a s e n t i t l e d t o t h e m a n s l a u g h t e r

i n s t r u c t i o n

, a n d i f s h e w e r e

, t o d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r s h e w a s h a r m e d b y t h e c o u r t ’ s f a i l u r e t o

i n c l u d e t h e i n s t r u c t i o n i n t h e c h a r g e

. S e e H u d s o n I I

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 2 5

– 2 6 ( c i t i n g F l o r e s

v

. S t a t e

, 2 4 5 S

. W

. 3 d 4 3 2

, 4 3 9 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 0 8 ) ; F o r e s t v

. S t a t e

, 9 8 9 S

. W

. 2 d 3 6 5

,

3 6 8 ( T e x

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 9 ) ; S a u n d e r s v

. S t a t e

, 9 1 3 S

. W

. 2 d 5 6 4

, 5 6 9

– 7 4 ( T e x

. C r i m

.

A p p

. 1 9 9 5 ) )

. O n r e m a n d

, t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s a f f i r m e d t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e t r i a l c o u r t t h a t

A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

, a n d a s a r e s u l t

, i t d i d n o t

r e a c h t h e q u e s t i o n o f w h e t h e r A p p e l l a n t w a s h a r m e d

. S e e H u d s o n v

. S t a t e

, 4 1 5 S

. W

. 3 d

8 9 1

, 8 9 7 ( T e x

. A p p

. — T e x a r k a n a 2 0 1 3 ) [ h e r e i n a f t e r H u d s o n I I I ]

. S u b s e q u e n t l y

, w e

g r a n t e d A p p e l l a n t ’ s a n d t h e S t a t e ’ s p e t i t i o n s f o r r e v i e w

. H o w e v e r

, w e n e e d n o t r e a c h t h e

3

We gr anted the State’ s petition on three g rounds: 3

(1) I s a testify ing de fenda nt who disclaims any

involvement in the offe nse and

blames anothe r entitled to a lesse r-include d instruction?

(2) Can c ircumstantial evidenc e that is subject to two interpre tations be

“af firmative e vidence ” of only one of the m, thus entitl ing a defe ndant to an

instruction on a lesser -included of fense ?Hudson –4

S t a t e ’ s t h r e e g r o u n d s f

o r r e v i e w b e c a u s e w e o v e r r u l e A p p e l l a n t ’ s f i r s t g r o u n d f

o r r e v i e w

a n d a f f i r m t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s t h a t A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o a n

i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

.

F U R T H E R P R O C E E D IN G S

W h e n w e r e v e r s e d t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s a n d r e m a n d e d t h i s c a u s e

f o r r e c o n s i d e r a t i o n

, w e a s k e d t h e c o u r t t o f i r s t c o n s i d e r i f p o s s i b l e i n t e r m e d i a t e

l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d o f

f e n s e s e x i s t e d t h a t m i g h t h a v e b e e n s u p p o r t e d b y t h e e v i d e n c e

. S e e

H u d s o n I I

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 2 5 ; s e e a l s o F l o r e s

, 2 4 5 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 3 9

. S e c o n d

, w e a s k e d t h e

c o u r t

, i f e r r o r w a s f

o u n d

, t o c o n s i d e r t h e s u b m i s s i o n o f a n y o t h e r l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d

i n t e r m e d i a t e o f

f e n s e s i n i t s h a r m a n a l y s i s

. H u d s o n I I

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 2 5

– 2 6 ; s e e a l s o

S a u n d e r s

, 9 1 3 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 6 9

– 7 4

. T h i s C o u r t i d e n t i f i e d t h r e e p o s s i b l e i n t e r m e d i a t e

o f f e n s e s : ( 1 ) m u r d e r b a s e d o n i n t e n t t o c a u s e s e r i o u s b o d i l y i n j u r y

, ( 2 ) f

e l o n y m u r d e r

b a s e d o n f

e l o n y k i d n a p p i n g

, a n d p o s s i b l y ( 3 ) f e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a

c h i l d

. S e e H

u d s o n I I

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5 2 5

.

T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s e x a m i n e d t h e o f f e n s e s s u g g e s t e d b y t h i s C o u r t a n d c o n c l u d e d

t h a t f e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a c h i l d s a t i s f

i e d t h e f i r s t p r o n g o f t h e H

a l l

(3) I s there a

ny need to r eview a

defe ndant’s entitlement to a lesse r-include d

instruction when the jury

was g iven other le sser options and convic ted on the

g rea test offe nse.

We gr anted the A

ppellant’s sole g round for revie w:

(1) The court of a

ppeals e rre d by

holding that the tr ial court did not err by failing

to submit an instruction on the lesser included off

ense of manslaug hter.Hudson –5

t e s t b e c a u s e t h e p r o o f n e c e s s a r y t o e s t a b l i s h g u i l t f o r c a p i t a l m u r d e r a s p l e d i n t h e

i n d i c t m e n t w o u l d a l s o b e s u f f i c i e n t t o p r o v e f

e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a

c h i l d

. H u d s o n I I I

, 4 1 5 S

. W

. 3 d a t 8 9 6 ( c o n c l u d i n g t h a t f e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s 4

i n j u r y t o a c h i l d s a t i s f

i e d t h e H a l l t e s t )

. T h e c o u r t t h e n a n a l y z e d w h e t h e r t h e r e w a s

e v i d e n c e t h a t

, i f b e l i e v e d b y t h e j u r y

, n e g a t e d a n e l e m e n t o f t h e c h a r g e d o f f e n s e s u c h t h a t

t h e j u r y c o u l d h a v e f

o u n d A p p e l l a n t g u i l t y o f f e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a

c h i l d

. I d

. T h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s c o n c l u d e d t h a t

, i f t h e j u r y b e l i e v e d t h a t A p p e l l a n t a c t e d

o n l y r e c k l e s s l y i n c a u s i n g S a m u e l ’ s d e a t h

, t h a t e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t e d a c o n v i c t i o n f o r

m a n s l a u g h t e r o r f

e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a c h i l d b e c a u s e t h e e v i d e n c e

w a s c l e a r t h a t A p p e l l a n t i n f l i c t e d s e r i o u s b o d i l y i n

j u r y

— a n a c t c l e a r l y d a n g e r o u s t o

h u m a n l i f

e

— o n h e r s o n

, t h e v i c t i m

, t h a t r e s u l t e d i n h i s d e a t h

. H u d s o n I I I

, 3 9 4 S

. W

. 3 d a t 5

8 9 7

. T h u s

, i t c o n c l u d e d t h a t A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o a n i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

b e c a u s e A p p e l l a n t c o u l d n o t s a t i s f y t h e s e c o n d

, “ g u i l t y o n l y ” p r o n g o f t h e l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d

t e s t

. I d

.

J u s t i c e C a r t e r c o n c u r r e d i n t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

. I d

. a t 8 9 7 ( C a r t e r

,

J

. , c o n c u r r i n g )

. H e w r o t e s e p a r a t e l y t o e x p l a i n t h a t

, b a s e d o n h i s r e s e a r c h a n d

Fe lony murder is a

first-deg ree felony , while manslaug hter is a se cond-de g ree felony

. 4

Compare T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 19.02(c)

, with T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 19.04(b).

T E X

. P E N A L C O D E § 19.02(b)( 3) (“ A per son commits an offense if he: . . . commits or 5

attempts to commit a felony , other than ma nslaug hter, a

nd in the course of and in fur thera nce of

the commission or attempt, or in immediate flig ht from the commission or attempt, he c ommits

or attempts to commit an act c lear ly dang erous to human life that cause s the dea th of an

individual.”).Hudson –6

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h i s C o u r t ’ s c a s e l a w

, t h e “ l i e s b e t w e e n ” r u l e i s n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n a n 6

a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e s e c o n d

, “ g u i l t y o n l y ” p r o n g o f t h e l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d a n a l y s i s t h a t t h i s

C o u r t h a s f

o l l o w e d f

o r d e c a d e s

. I

d

. a t 8 9 8 ( c i t i n g S w e e d v

. S t a t e

, 3 5 1 S

. W

. 3 d 6 3

, 6 7 ( T e x

.

C r i m

. A p p

. 2 0 1 1 ) )

. W e a g r e e w i t h J u s t i c e C a r t e r

, a n d w e w r i t e t o e x p l a i n w h y

.

D IS C U S S IO N

A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

b e c a u s e t h e p r o o f u p o n w h i c h s h e r e l i e d w a s a l s o s u f f i c i e n t t o p r o v e a n o t h e r

, g r e a t e r

l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d o f

f e n s e o f c a p i t a l m u r d e r

, f e l o n y m u r d e r b a s e d o n f e l o n i o u s i n

j u r y t o a

c h i l d

. S e e F l o r e s

, 2 4 5 S

. W

. 3 d a t 4 3 9

. C o n s e q u e n t l y

, A p p e l l a n t c a n n o t p r o v e t h a t s h e i s

7

g u i l t y o f o n l y m a n s l a u g h t e r

, e v e n i f t h e j u r y b e l i e v e d t h a t h e r e v i d e n c e o f r e c k l e s s n e s s

n e g a t e d t h e i n t e n t i o n a l

- m u r d e r r e q u i r e m e n t o f c a p i t a l m u r d e r

, a n d t h e t r i a l c o u r t d i d n o t

e r r w h e n i t r e

j e c t e d A p p e l l a n t ’ s r e q u e s t f o r t h e m a n s l a u g h t e r i n s t r u c t i o n

. W e w r i t e

a d d i t i o n a l l y o n l y t o c l a r i f y t h e c a s e l a w f

r o m t h i s C o u r t

, a n d t h e c a s e t h a t b o t h p a r t i e s a n d

See H udson III , 394 S.W .3d at 525 n.12 (quoting Flores , 245 S.W .3d at 439). I n Flores

, 6

we state d that “a de fenda nt is not entit led to a jury instruction on a lesser -included of fense if the

evidenc e on which the defe ndant is rely ing r aises anothe r off ense tha t ‘ lies between ’ the

reque sted and c harg ed off enses.” Flores , 245 S.W .3d at 439 (e mphasis added)

.

See supra note 4. The indictment a lleg ed that Appe llant beat the victim (with var ious 7

implements) and that she w ithheld food from the vic tim. Differe nt methods of committing an

offe nse that ar e alleg ed in the conjunc tive in an indictment may g ener ally be alleg ed in the

disjunctive in the jury

char g e. See J

ourdan v. State , 428 S.W .3d 86, 94 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014).

But the a pplication para g raph of

Appellant’s jury

char g e conta ined these a lleg ations in the

conjunctive, r equiring the jury to find that Appellant bea t the victim and withheld food fr om the

victim. Bec ause the jury

had to find both of these alleg ations to convict Appellant of c apital

murder, w e nee d not addre ss our rec ent holding tha t the cause of dea th that give s rise to a fe lony

murder c onviction cannot be ba sed solely on an omission. See R odriguez v. State , No. PD-1189-

13, 2014 WL 2808269, at *4 (Te x . Crim. App. J une 18, 2014, re h’gg rante d).Hudson –7

J u s t i c e C a r t e r r e l i e d u p o n

.

I n S w e e d

, t h e d e f

e n d a n t w a s e n t i t l e d t o a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n d e s p i t e t h e

f a c t t h a t a “ l i e s b e t w e e n ” o f f e n s e e x i s t e d

. I n S w e e d

, t h e c o m p l a i n a n t

, t h e h e a d o f a

c o n s t r u c t i o n c r e w

, w a s r e m o d e l i n g a n a p a r t m e n t c o m p l e x i n H o u s t o n

, w h e n h e n o t i c e d

t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t

, w h o w a s n o t o n e o f h i s e m p l o y e e s

, w a s w i t h h i s w o r k c r e w

. S w e e d

,

3 5 1 S

. W

. 3 d a t 6 4

. L a t e r t h a t a f t e r n o o n

, t h e c o m p l a i n a n t ’ s e m p l o y e e t o l d h i m t h a t t h e

a p p e l l a n t h a d s t o l e n a n a i l g u n

, a n d a n o t h e r e m p l o y e e t o l d h i m t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t r a n i n t o

a n e a r b y a p a r t m e n t

. T h e c o m p l a i n a n t a n d h i s f a t h e r s a w t h e a p p e l l a n t l e a v e t h e a p a r t m e n t

w e a r i n g d i f

f e r e n t c l o t h e s a n d w a l k a c r o s s t h e a p a r t m e n t

- c o m p l e x p a r k i n g l o t

, w h e r e h e

b e g a n s p e a k i n g t o s o m e o t h e r p e o p l e

. A t s o m e p o i n t

, t h e a p p e l l a n t n o t i c e d t h e

c o m p l a i n a n t w a s w a t c h i n g h i m

. I d

. T h e a p p e l l a n t t h e n a p p r o a c h e d t h e c o m p l a i n a n t a n d

w a v e d a k n i f

e a t h i m

, a n d t h e c o m p l a i n a n t p r e t e n d e d t o h a v e a g u n “ o r s o m e t h i n g ” i n h i s

p o c k e t

. T h e a p p e l l a n t

, w i t h o u t s a y i n g a n y t h i n g

, r e t u r n e d t o t h e a p a r t m e n t f r o m w h i c h h e

c a m e

. T h e e n t i r e e p i s o d e t o o k b e t w e e n 1 5 t o 3 0 m i n u t e s

. I d

.

T h e S t a t e i n d i c t e d t h e a p p e l l a n t f o r a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y o n t h e t h e o r y t h a t

, w h i l e i n

t h e c o u r s e o f s t e a l i n g t h e c o m p l a i n a n t ’ s n a i l g u n

, t h e a p p e l l a n t i n t e n t i o n a l l y a n d

k n o w i n g l y t h r e a t e n e d t h e c o m p l a i n a n t ( i

. e

. , t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n f o r e m a n ) a n d p l a c e d h i m i n

f e a r o f i m m i n e n t b o d i l y i n j u r y a n d d e a t h b y u s i n g a k n i f e

. I d

. a t 6 5 n

. 1

. A t t h e c h a r g e

c o n f e r e n c e

, t h e a p p e l l a n t r e q u e s t e d a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e f t

, a n d t h e S t a t e

r e q u e s t e d a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n a g g r a v a t e d a s s a u l t

. B o t h r e q u e s t s w e r e d e n i e d

.Hudson –8

O n a p p e a l

, w e h e l d t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t w a s e n t i t l e d t o a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n t h e f t

.

I d

. a t 6 8

. R e f

e r r i n g t o t h e s e c o n d p r o n g o f t h e l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d t e s t

, w e e x p l a i n e d t h a t

, “ [ i ] f

‘ i n t h e c o u r s e o f c o m m i t t i n g t h e f t ’ c o u l d n o t b e p r o v e n a t t r i a l

, t h e n t h e t h e f t a n d t h e

a s s a u l t w e r e s e p a r a t e e v e n t s

, a n d A p p e l l a n t c o u l d n o t b e f o u n d g u i l t y o f r o b b e r y o r

a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y

. ” I

d

. a t 6 9

. W e a l s o a g r e e w i t h J u d g e J o h n s o n ’ s a n a l y s i s i n h e r

c o n c u r r i n g o p i n i o n i n S w e e d t h a t

, h a d t h e i s s u e b e e n b e f o r e t h i s C o u r t

, t h e S t a t e ’ s r e q u e s t

f o r a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n o n a g g r a v a t e d a s s a u l t s h o u l d h a v e a l s o b e e n g r a n t e d

b e c a u s e a g g r a v a t e d a s s a u l t w a s a l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d o f f e n s e o f a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y a s p l e d i n

t h a t c a s e

. I

d

. a t 7 0 ( J o h n s o n

, J

. , c o n c u r r i n g

, j o i n e d b y C o c h r a n

, J

. )

. I n o t h e r w o r d s

, b o t h

l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d i n s t r u c t i o n s

— t h e f t a n d a g g r a v a t e d a s s a u l t

— w o u l d h a v e b e e n p r o p e r t o

i n c l u d e i n t h e j u r y c h a r g e

, d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t a g g r a v a t e d a s s a u l t “ l i e s b e t w e e n ” t h e f t a n d

a g g r a v a t e d r o b b e r y

.

H o w e v e r

, t h e f

a c t s o f A p p e l l a n t ’ s c a s e a r e d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e f r o m t h o s e i n S w e e d

. I n

S w e e d

, i f t h e j u r y d i d n o t b e l i e v e t h a t t h e a p p e l l a n t a s s a u l t e d t h e c o m p l a i n a n t i n t h e

c o u r s e o f c o m m i t t i n g t h e f t

, t h e j u r y c o u l d h a v e c o n v i c t e d h i m o f o n l y t h e l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d

o f f e n s e o f t h e f

t

. O n t h e o t h e r h a n d

, i n t h i s c a s e

, e v e n i f t h e j u r y b e l i e v e d t h e e v i d e n c e t h a t

A p p e l l a n t w a s o n l y r e c k l e s s i n k i l l i n g h e r c h i l d

, t h a t e v i d e n c e s u p p o r t e d t w o l e s s e r

i n c l u d e d o f

f e n s e s

, o n e o f w h i c h w a s a l e s s e r i n c l u d e d o f c a p i t a l m u r d e r b u t g r e a t e r t h a n

m a n s l a u g h t e r

, f

e l o n y m u r d e r

. T h e r e f

o r e

, A p p e l l a n t w a s n o t e n t i t l e d t o t h e r e q u e s t e d

i n s t r u c t i o n o n m a n s l a u g h t e r

. F i n a l l y

, a l t h o u g h A p p e l l a n t m a y h a v e b e e n e n t i t l e d t o aHudson –9

d i f f e r e n t l e s s e r

- i n c l u d e d

- o f f e n s e i n s t r u c t i o n i f s h e h a d r e q u e s t e d o n e

, s u c h a s f e l o n y

m u r d e r

, A p p e l l a n t m a d e n o s u c h r e q u e s t

, a n d t h a t i s s u e i s n o t b e f o r e u s

. 8

W e a f f i r m t h e j u d g m e n t o f t h e c o u r t o f a p p e a l s

.

H e r v e y

, J

.

D e l i v e r e d : D e c e m b e r 1 0

, 2 0 1 4

P u b l i s h

The dissent ar g ues that, bec ause the jury char g e did not include lang uag e explaining that 8

felony injury to a child ca

n be committed re cklessly or with criminal neg lige nce, A ppellant was

entitled to the manslaug hter instruction. Howe ver, the fac t that the specifie d lang uag e wa s not

included in the jury

char g e does not lea d to the conclusion that Appe llant was entitled to the

reque sted lesser- included manslaug hter instruction. I f Appe llant was unsatisfied with the

definition of injury

to a child in the jury

char g e, Appe llant should have objec ted at trial or r aised

the issue on appe al. Howe ver, A ppellant fa iled to do either of the se thing s.