Opinion ID: 1088560
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: the court failed to give clear instructions as to the state's burden of proof of the underlying felony and such error was fatal to the verdict.

Text: Appellant argues that the trial court failed to give clear instructions as to the state's burden of proof of the underlying felony. Appellant contends that the court erroneously reworded instruction D-13 to exclude circumstantial evidence language. He also contends that the instruction, as reworded, was not clear. We have already disposed of the appellant's argument as it concerns circumstantial evidence. Instruction D-13 in its original form does not appear in this record. Furthermore, the record does not reveal that the appellant made an objection to D-13 as it was given. Appellant has, therefore, waived his objection to this instruction on this issue. Bieller v. State, 275 So.2d 97, at 99 (Miss. 1973). See also, Supreme Court Rule 42. It is argued that instruction D-13, appellant's own instruction minus the circumstantial evidence language, was confusing because of the jury's question during deliberations. The jury sent the following question to the trial judge: Does a person have to plan to commit a robbery, or be in the process of robbing a person when he kills them, for it to be capital murder? Does it matter which happens first, the robbery or the murder? The trial judge made counsel aware of the question put to him by the jury and dictated the following response to the jury: In reply to your inquiry, please be advised that the law provides that the violence of putting in fear, which is an essential element of the crime of robbery, must be committed prior to, or contemporaneously or concomitant with the taking of property. Concomitant is defined as something that accompanies or is collaterally connected with something else. Both sides were offered an opportunity to object to the additional instruction granted by the trial judge and both sides offered no objection. If we assume that jury instruction D-13 was confusing, the underlying felony was adequately explained in instruction S-1, which tracked the felony murder statute, Mississippi Code Annotated § 97-3-19(2)(e) (Supp. 1983). We, therefore, conclude that the jury was fully and fairly instructed as to the applicable law and the tenth and eleventh assignments of error are without merit.