People v. Cook

Defendant was tried before a jury in the Detroit Recorder’s Court on a charge of committing first-degree murder while in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate a robbery. MCL 750.316; MSA 28.548. After some eight hours of deliberations, extending over parts of three days, defendant was found to be guilty as charged. Thereafter, defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment. He now appeals as of right.

Defendant’s sole claim on appeal is that the trial court’s supplemental instruction to the jury after it had announced that it was deadlocked was coercive. Before the jury deliberations began,…