Bove v. State

The appellant challenges his conviction for first degree murder contending that the trial court’s extemporaneous instructions on reasonable doubt constitute fundamental error. We agree.

This case is controlled by our recent decision in Jones v. State, 656 So.2d 489 (Fla. 4th DCA), reh’g en banc and certification denied, July 21, 1995, rev. denied, 663 So.2d 632 (Fla.1995), petition for cert. filed, 64 U.S.L.W. 3561 (U.S. Feb. 5, 1996) (No. 95-1265), where we held that it was fundamental error to minimize the reasonable doubt standard by informing the jury that it could convict on a lesser…