Erskine v. State

BERGER, Justice:

In this criminal appeal we address the need for a jury instruction on an accomplice’s mental state and culpability for an aggravating factor. It is settled law that a court must give instructions on lesser included offenses only if requested to do so by either party, and only if there is a rational basis in the evidence to acquit the defendant of the charged offense and find the defendant guilty of the lesser one. By statute, an accomplice is criminally liable for an offense only on the basis of the accomplice’s own mental state and accountability for an aggravating factor.…