Opinion ID: 2060561
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Submission of third-degree murder verdict.

Text: Wilson claims the trial court committed error in failing to submit a verdict of third-degree murder in addition to the first-degree and second-degree murder verdicts which were submitted. Sec. 940.03, Stats., provides: Third-degree murder. Whoever in the course of committing or attempting to commit a felony causes the death of another human being as a natural and probable consequence of the commission of or attempt to commit the felony, may be imprisoned not more than 15 years in excess of the maximum provided by law for the felony. This section is a statutory codification of the common-law felony murder rule. [19] There is no doubt that Wilson, in the course of attempting to commit a felony (armed robbery) caused the death of John T. Kennedy as a natural and probable consequence of the attempt to commit the felony. But does this entitle him under the facts to submission of a verdict for third-degree murder? It is well settled that to justify submission of a lesser offense to the jury there must be in the evidence some reasonable ground for a conviction of the lesser and an acquittal of the greater offense. [20] [T]he trial court must not only find evidence for a conviction of the lesser offense, but must also conclude that there was no reasonable ground on the evidence for a conviction of the greater offense. [21] The greater offenses submitted to the jury were firstdegree murder, which requires a specific intent to kill the victim or another, [22] and second-degree murder, which requires imminently dangerous conduct evincing a depraved mind, regardless of human life. [23] Under the facts of this case, where Wilson fired one shot, asked for money and then fired again, while the jury might have found no specific intent to kill, there would be no reasonable ground upon which the jury could acquit the defendant of second-degree murder. In the very recent and similar case of Buckner v. State, [24] the defendant in the course of an armed robbery killed one of his victims and was convicted of second-degree murder. We conclude that there being no reasonable ground in the evidence upon which the jury could have acquitted Wilson of second-degree murder, the trial court did not err in refusing to submit a verdict of third-degree murder to the jury.