United States v. Shider

Opinion of the Court

FERGUSON, Judge:

The accused was convicted on a single specification alleging the unpremeditated murder of his two and one-half-year-old stepdaughter, in violation of Article 118, Uniform Code of Military Justice, 10 USC § 918. His sentence currently stands at dishonorable discharge, total forfeitures, and confinement at hard labor for twenty-five years. Since we believe that a rehearing is necessary because of an instructional error, we need not consider the several allegations of error raised by appellate defense counsel.

The accused did not testify at the trial and the…