Opinion ID: 1363141
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The trial court erred, as a matter of law, in refusing to instruct on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter as lesser included offenses of felony murder (Count 7).

Text: Ordinarily, in a felony murder case where the evidence of the commission of the underlying felony is clear and uncontroverted, no instruction on lesser degrees of homicide should be given. State v. Goodseal, 220 Kan. 487, 553 P.2d 279 (1976); State v. Masqua, 210 Kan. 419, 502 P.2d 728 (1972), cert. denied 411 U.S. 951 (1973). Instructions on lesser degrees of homicide are required only in those cases where evidence of the commission of the underlying felony is weak, disputed, and unclear. State v. Bradford, 219 Kan. 336, 548 P.2d 812 (1976). On separate occasions, shortly after the homicide, defendant told two persons he had killed the victim in the course of an attempted robbery, with details of how the killing had occurred. At trial defendant denied any involvement in the crime. Defendant's statements to the two persons were consistent with each other and with other evidence in the case. The jury could choose to believe that defendant's prior statements were correct, as testified to by Ms. Malcolm and Simmons, or that defendant was not involved in the homicide. Accordingly, the jury could find defendant guilty of felony murder or innocent. No error is shown in refusing to instruct on the lesser degrees of homicide.