Adriana Rodriguez v. State of Florida

Adriana Rodriguez appeals her convictions for first-degree murder and kidnapping. Because the trial court erred by not giving the Defendant’s requested jury instructions on the defenses of independent act and duress, we reverse the first-degree murder conviction.

Background

Maciel Videla was murdered as part of a plot by several drug dealers to make him “permanently deaf and blind” for snitching. His body was found in a canal on December 12, 2008. His throat had been slashed and he had been stabbed multiple times by Diego Nunez (“Yogi”).

The Defendant was the victim’s girlfriend. On the night of…