State v. Jones

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nuss, J.:

A jury convicted Samuel Jones, Jr., of first-degree premeditated murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life in prison without eligibility of parole for 25 years. He appeals directly to this court pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3601(b)(1) (convicted of off-grid crime).

Jones raises two issues on appeal:

1. Did the trial court commit reversible error in refusing to grant Jones’ request for instructions on the lesser-included offenses of second-degree intentional murder and voluntary manslaughter?

2. Did the State fail to prove the element of…