Kennedy v. State

Appellant, Valerie Kennedy, appeals her convictions and consecutive 30-year sentences for aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse in the death of her three-year-old son. Among other complaints, she claims that the court fundamentally erred in instructing the jury on aggravated child abuse. We agree that the jury instruction deviated from the standard instruction and failed to give a complete definition of the term “maliciously.” The court also gave a legally incorrect response to the jury’s question about the definition of “torture.” Based upon these errors, we reverse the…