Commonwealth v. Carlino

A jury convicted the defendant of murder in the first degree on two theories: premeditation and extreme atrocity *72or cruelty.1 The verdict slip, which listed separately the three theories of murder in the first degree, did not indicate whether the jury convicted or acquitted the defendant on the theory of felony-murder.2 We set aside the conviction in Commonwealth v. Carlino, 429 Mass. 692 (1999), and the defendant was retried for murder.3 At the second trial, the jury were again presented with the option of finding the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree on any or all of the three…