Opinion ID: 1630881
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in refusing Robert's instruction on manslaughter.

Text: ¶ 27. Robert argues that he should have been allowed to have a manslaughter instruction. The State responds that there was no evidentiary basis for such an instruction. The standard of review for challenges to jury instructions is as follows: Jury instructions are to be read together and taken as a whole with no one instruction taken out of context. A defendant is entitled to have jury instructions given which present his theory of the case, however, this entitlement is limited in that the court may refuse an instruction which incorrectly states the law, is covered fairly elsewhere in the instructions, or is without foundation in the evidence. Smith v. State, 802 So.2d 82, 88 (Miss. 2001) (citations omitted). Jury instructions should be given only when evidence in the case being tried supports them. Walker v. State, 740 So.2d 873, 888 (Miss. 1999). We have held that a lesser-included offense instruction is authorized if a rational or a reasonable jury could find the defendant not guilty of the principal offense in the indictment, but guilty of the lesser-included offense. Pleasant v. State, 701 So.2d 799, 804 (Miss.1997). ¶ 28. Jury instruction D-6 reads as follows: If you find the State has failed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, any one or more of the elements of the crime of murder, you will find the Defendant not guilty of this original charge and proceed with your deliberations to decide whether the State has proven, beyond a reasonable doubt, all of the elements of the lesser offense of manslaughter. After your deliberations on the lesser offense, if you find the evidence that on or about March 1, 1999 that the Defendant killed Gene Lillie in the heat of passion and without the authority of law and that Gene Lillie was a living human being, then you shall find the Defendant guilty of the crime of Manslaughter. If the State has failed to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, any one or more of the elements of the crime of petit larceny, then you shall find the Defendant not guilty.... ¶ 29. In this case there is no basis for manslaughter, and there is no evidence to support a manslaughter instruction. Robert argues that he was entitled to have the jury instructed on the different defense theories. However, in absence of evidence, he is not entitled to such an instruction.