Banyard v. State

KING, C.J., for the Court.

¶ 1. Demarious Latwan Banyard was convicted of capital murder for killing Robin Eric Ballad during the commission of an armed robbery. The Circuit Court of Hinds County sentenced Banyard to serve a term of life imprisonment, without eligibility for parole, in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections (MDOC). Banyard appeals his conviction and raises the following three issues:

I. Whether the trial court erred by refusing to give Banyard’s jury instructions regarding manslaughter as a lesser-included offense of capital murder,

II. Whether the trial court…