Opinion ID: 2189436
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Aiding and Abetting Instructions

Text: The aiding and abetting instructions given in this instance were not objected to at trial; therefore, the appropriate standard of review is whether manifest injustice has occurred. Woods, 416 Mich 610. While the instruction given on this issue was arguably erroneous, after a careful review of the record, we find no evidence of injustice. The defendant argues that the aiding and abetting instructions given allowed the jury to convict him of felony murder on an aiding and abetting theory without explicitly requiring the jury to make a determination of his intent to aid and abet the murder. The language under point four provides as follows: [T]hat this crime which occurred, that is the felony murder, was fairly within the criminal plan and the defendant might have expected this to happen in the course of committing the robbery. The defendant reads this as permitting the jury to apply an objective standard of foreseeability on the issue of intent. He concludes that conviction under this language violates the Aaron requirement that malice on the part of the defendant be found before any killing can be deemed murder. Before discussing the defendant's contention further, it is necessary to understand the elements of an aiding and abetting charge in Michigan. The Michigan statute, MCL 767.39; MSA 28.979, provides: Every person concerned in the commission of an offense, whether he directly commits the act constituting the offense or procures, counsels, aids, or abets in its commission may hereafter be prosecuted, indicted, tried and on conviction shall be punished as if he had directly committed such offense. The requisite intent is that necessary to be convicted of the crime as a principal. Meister v People, 31 Mich 99 (1875). In this instance, under Aaron, it therefore must be shown that the aider and abettor had the intent to kill, the intent to cause great bodily harm or wantonly and willfully disregarded the likelihood of the natural tendency of his behavior to cause death or great bodily harm. Aaron, 409 Mich 733. Further, if the aider and abettor participates in a crime with knowledge of his principal's intent to kill or to cause great bodily harm, he is acting with wanton and willful disregard sufficient to support a finding of malice under Aaron. [6] This result is in accord with numerous decisions reached by the Court of Appeals over a considerable period of time. See, e.g., People v Schaffer, 129 Mich App 287, 291; 341 NW2d 507 (1983); People v Turner, 125 Mich App 8, 11; 336 NW2d 217 (1983); People v Davenport, 122 Mich App 159, 164; 332 NW2d 443 (1982); People v Harris, 110 Mich App 636, 643; 313 NW2d 354 (1981); People v Wilbert, 105 Mich App 631, 640; 307 NW2d 388 (1981); People v Wirth, 87 Mich App 41, 46; 273 NW2d 104 (1978); People v Poplar, 20 Mich App 132, 136; 173 NW2d 732 (1969). The Aaron concerns are not implicated by this standard. In Aaron, we expressed concern for co-felons who, under the old felony-murder rule became involved in an unforeseen and unagreed-to murder. Aaron, 409 Mich 731. We stated: In the past, the felony-murder rule has been employed where unforeseen or accidental deaths occur and where the state seeks to prove vicarious liability of co-felons. In situations involving the vicarious liability of co-felons, the individual liability of each felon must be shown. It is fundamentally unfair and in violation of basic principles of individual criminal culpability to hold one felon liable for the unforeseen and unagreed-to results of another felon. This concern is not implicated by an aiding and abetting standard which requires a finding that the co-felon acted with malice. We do not address the defendant's contention that the actual instruction given does not require this level of intent to be found because the objection was not properly preserved. We review in this instance only to determine whether the defendant was subject to a manifest injustice. Because the intent necessary for an aiding and abetting conviction is so overwhelmingly evident from the record, we find that no injustice has occurred. The entire criminal enterprise, including the robbery and the killing, was cooperative in nature. Eyewitness testimony established that Kelly and Moses signaled to each other prior to entering the house, headed in the direction of the house with a rifle and a knife, and left the house with a rifle and a knife wrapped in a bloodied sheet. They were observed loading a television set into a van. There was also testimony by a witness that Kelly had told him that he (Kelly) pushed Espy down while Moses tied him up. The defendant admitted having blood on his pants. The nature of the killing itself clearly demonstrates that it was neither accidental nor done without malice. The victim's hands were tied behind his back, and his throat was slit a number of times. Even assuming the defendant did not enter the house with the intent to murder, it is clear that he either formulated such an intent once inside the house, or at the very least became aware of his codefendant's specific intent at some point during these gruesome proceedings. Defendant's testimony was contradicted by the witnesses and unsupported by the evidence. He stated that he was walking down the street when Moses threw a rifle to him and he followed with no knowledge of what was happening. He did, however, admit to agreeing to steal the television set, and, on cross-examination, to entering the victim's enclosed porch. In reviewing the record for evidence of manifest injustice to the defendant, we find none. Instead, we find the evidence of intent necessary to support an aiding and abetting conviction so overwhelming that even if the instructions are considered ambiguous no injustice is done to the defendant by allowing his conviction to stand.