State v. Lynch

EXUM, Chief Justice.

At defendant’s trial for first degree murder the jury was instructed that it could find defendant guilty on a theory of premeditation and deliberation or on a theory of lying in wait. The jury returned a general verdict of guilty without specifying upon which theory or theories it relied.

While the evidence was sufficient to support a verdict on a theory of premeditation and deliberation, the evidence was insufficient to support a verdict on a theory of lying in wait. It was reversible error, therefore, to submit the case to the jury on a theory unsupported by the evidence;…