Flowers v. State

On the afternoon of September 15, 1979, Leroy Leverette was brutally beaten to death with a shovel. The sixteen year old defendant was indicted for his first degree murder. A jury found the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree and fixed his punishment at 99 years' imprisonment. Three issues are raised on appeal.

I

The trial judge gave very thorough and lengthy oral instructions to the jury. Defense counsel announced that he was "satisfied" with these instructions. On two separate occasions the trial judge, at the jury's requests, repeated his instructions on the elements of first and…