State v. Rogers, 276 Kan. 497

Summary

The Supreme Court of Kansas reviewed Benjamin L. Rogers's convictions for theft and two counts of felony murder arising from a motorcycle dealership burglary and subsequent vehicle pursuit. The court held that the evidence supported the felony-murder finding and that the trial court properly refused certain requested jury instructions, but it found that the theft instructions improperly presented theft as two separate crimes. The court reversed the theft and felony-murder convictions and remanded for a new trial.

Holdings

1. The evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the deaths occurred during the defendants' joint flight from the theft and therefore supported Rogers's felony-murder convictions.
2. The district court's theft instructions and the State's related closing arguments inaccurately stated the law of theft, violating Rogers's due process rights and undermining his theory of defense. The theft and felony-murder convictions therefore had to be reversed and remanded for a new trial.
3. The district court did not err by refusing Rogers's requested instructions concerning whether the killing occurred outside the commission or flight from the underlying felony.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the evidence supported Rogers's felony-murder convictions based on deaths occurring during the commission of or flight from felony theft.
2. Whether the district court violated due process and Rogers's theory of defense by bifurcating theft into theft by obtaining unauthorized control and theft by exerting unauthorized control.
3. Whether the district court erred by refusing requested instructions explaining that felony murder does not include a killing occurring outside the commission of or flight from the underlying felony.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded