Banyard v. State

¶ 29. Because I believe that the trial court properly refused to give Banyard a duress instruction, I respectfully dissent. This Court’s longstanding precedent has been that duress is not a defense to murder. See Wilson v. State, 390 So.2d 575, 576 n. 1 (Miss.1980); Watson v. State, 212 Miss. 788, 55 So.2d 441 (1951); Taylor v. State, 158 Miss. 505, 130 So. 502 (1930). Application of this principle logically has been applied to capital murder cases. See Ruffin v. State, 992 So.2d 1165 (Miss.2008); West v. State, 725 So.2d 872 (Miss.1998) (overruled on other grounds); Fuqua v. State, 938 So.2d…