Court Opinion

ID: 9848788
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:27:14.27764+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:18:45.956474
License: Public Domain

Bell, Judge
(concurring):
I agree that Cox is entitled to a new trial. However, I vote to reverse solely on the ground that the jury charge was erroneous and prejudicial. In order to convict Armstrong as an accessory to murder, it was only necessary for the jury to find that a murder had been committed by a principal felon. State v. Massey, 267 S. C. 432, 229 S. E. (2d) 332 (1976) (accessory before or after the fact may be convicted even though the principal has not been convicted or has been acquitted). It was error to charge, in effect, that a particular defendant, Cox, must be convicted before Armstrong, who had confessed his guilt to the jury, could be found guilty.