Opinion ID: 1781968
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 19

Heading: the indictment charged defendant with armed robbery but the instruction to the jury set out a charge of robbery which violated defendant's rights under mississippi law and the united states constitution.

Text: Foster contends his conviction and sentence must be reversed because although the indictment against him charged murder during the commission of an armed robbery, the relevant jury instruction was labelled only as one on robbery. Therefore, Foster argues, the appellant was not given notice of the theory under which the State was proceeding against him, the jury was not instructed on the elements of armed robbery and the jury made no finding of armed robbery. Foster's indictment read as follows: That Ron Chris Foster late of [Lowndes] County, on or about the 10th day of June, 1989, did unlawfully, wilfully, and feloniously, with or without the design to effect death, kill and murder George Shelton, a human being, without authority of law and not in necessary self defense, while engaged in the commission of the crime of Armed Robbery, in violation of Section 97-3-19(2)(e) MCA 1972 as amended contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Mississippi. Although the jury instruction on the underlying felony, SGP-3, was termed one on robbery, the elements contained therein were clearly those comprising the crime of armed robbery. Instruction SGP-3 read: The Court instructs the Jury that robbery, as used in these instructions, is defined as unlawfully, wilfully and feloniously taking or attempting to take away from the presence of another person, some item of personal property, against his will by violence to his person, or by putting such person in fear of immediate injury to his person by the exhibition of a deadly weapon. (emphasis added). Despite the omission of the word armed from the instruction, there is no doubt that the jury was adequately instructed on the elements of that offense. Further, the jury was required to and did find Foster guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of all the elements contained in the indictment. Foster cites no authority for his proposition that reversible error exists where the proper elements of the crime charged are presented to the jury, although the labelling of the crime as it appears in the indictment and the instructions is not identical in all respects. We find no such authority and thus find this point to be lacking in merit. Finally, along the same line of argument, Foster submits to this Court that he was given no notice of the nature of the charges against him. A reading of the plain language of the indictment indicates this is simply not true. Rule 2.05 of the Mississippi Uniform Criminal Rules of Circuit Court Practice provides: The indictment upon which the defendant is to be tried shall be a plain, concise and definite written statement of the essential facts constituting the offense charged and shall fully notify the defendant of the nature and cause of the accusation against him. The indictment set forth the elements of the underlying crime of armed robbery. No more adequate notice could have been provided Foster, particularly since the language of the indictment is consistent with that found in Miss. Code Ann. Section 97-3-79, defining the crime of armed robbery. This assignment is wholly without merit. There being no error found in the guilt phase of the trial, Foster's conviction of capital murder will be affirmed.