Torres v. State (Majority, with Concurring and Dissenting)
Annotate this Case
In this case brought by the State bringing a charge of capital murder under alternate theories, rape felony murder and child-abuse murder, the Supreme Court reversed Appellant's conviction of capital murder and remanded the case for a new trial, holding that the circuit court should have directed a verdict on the rape felony murder formulation because of failure to proof of the predicate felony.
Appellant was convicted of capital murder in the death of his six-year-old son. The jury was presented with two alternative theories of capital murder - felony murder with the underlying felony of rape and child abuse murder. On appeal, Appellant argued, among other things, that the rape conviction was legally insufficient, and because a general verdict form was used, it was unclear which theory the jury convicted upon. Therefore, Appellant argued, the case must be remanded for a new trial. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that the State could not establish that Arkansas had jurisdiction to reach the conduct alleged to have been rape, and therefore, the rape felony murder was insufficient.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.