Opinion ID: 1723327
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: instruction on capital murder

Text: Johnson argues the court's instruction failed to embrace the statutory requirements of murder and capital murder, and also to require the state to prove intent on his part to commit murder. See: Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-19(1)(a), and (2)(a). Instruction C-7 reads in pertinent part (Vol. XII, pp. 1989-1990): The defendant, Samuel Johnson, has been charged by an indictment with the crime of capital murder for having wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously, of his malice aforethought and without authority of law kill and murder Billy Morris Langham, a human being, and that the said Billy Morris Langham was a peace officer at the time of the alleged murder, and that at the time of the alleged murder Billy Morris Langham was acting in his official capacity as a peace officer, and that at the time of the alleged murder the defendant, Samuel Johnson, knew that Billy Morris Langham was a peace officer acting in his official capacity. If you find from the evidence in this case beyond a reasonabely [sic] doubt that: 1) The defendant, Samuel Johnson, aided and commanded Charles Montgomery to commit capital murder by stabbing Officer Billy Morris Langham with a knife and ordering Charles Montgomery to shoot Officer Billy Morris Langham; and 2) That Charles Montgomery wilfully, unlawfully, feloniously and of his malice aforethought and without authority of law kill and murder Billy Morris Langham a human being, by shooting said Billy Morris Langham with a .357 Magnum pistol; and 3) That Billy Morris Langham was a peace officer, to-wit: a member of the personnel of the Mississippi Highway Patrol; and 4) That Billy Morris Langham was acting in his official capacity as a peace officer at the time of his death; and 5) That the defendant, Samuel Johnson, then and there had knowledge and knew that the aforesaid Billy Morris Langham was acting in his official capacity as a peace officer aforesaid; and 6) That said killing and murder of Billy Morris Langham occurred on the 31st day of December, 1981 in Covington County, Mississippi then you should find the defendant, Samuel Johnson, guilty of capital murder, and the form of your verdict may be: We, the jury, find the defendant, Samuel Johnson, guilty of capital murder. If you find the State has failed to prove any one of the essential elements of the crime of capital murder, you must find the defendant not guilty of capital murder and you will proceed with your deliberations to decide whether the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt all the elements of the lesser crime of murder less than capital. It can be readily observed that the first part of C-7 requires intent on the part of Johnson to kill Langham, and knowledge that he was killing a peace officer acting in his official capacity. The following paragraph with its six sub-parts clearly define the acts necessary to come within the capital murder framework. The jury could not have been misled by this instruction. It was never the contention of Johnson, either in the circuit court or on appeal, that the slaying of Langham was not a capital murder. His defense was he had nothing to do with the slaying. We do not have the situation of two parties engaged in a felony, and one without the actual knowledge or consent of the other committing a murder, also. The authorities cited by Johnson are inappropriate. Moreover, defense counsel approved these instructions by the circuit court. Williams v. State, 445 So.2d 798 (Miss. 1984) at 807; Rayburn v. State, 312 So.2d 454 (Miss. 1975) at 455; Rule 42 Miss. Sup.Ct. Rules. [1]