Elkin v. State

Margaret Elkin, the defendant, was charged with the premeditated first degree murder of her husband, and was eventually found guilty of second degree murder on retrial. Of the several issues raised by the defendant in this appeal, we find merit only in the claim that the trial court erred in refusing the defendant’s requested jury instruction on third degree felony murder.

The Florida Supreme Court has held “that in the case of degree crimes, requested instructions on all lesser degrees that are supported by the evidence must be given regardless of the allegations of the charging document.”…