State v. Parker
Annotate this CaseAfter a jury trial, Defendant Joshua Parker was convicted of second degree murder and attempted rape. The court of criminal appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of attempt to commit rape but reversed and vacated Defendant's conviction of second degree murder, holding (1) there was insufficient evidence to support Defendant's conviction, (2) State v. Mellons did not control the outcome of this case, (3) sufficient proof must support every element of the offense of which a defendant is convicted, even where the conviction offense is charged as a lesser-included offense and sufficient proof supports the greater offense, and (4) the trial court erred in charging the jury with second degree murder as a lesser-included offense of first degree felony murder. Because the proof was sufficient to support the offense of reckless homicide, remanded for entry of an amended judgment reflecting a conviction of reckless homicide and sentencing on reckless homicide.
Court Description: We granted this appeal by the State to determine if the defendant s conviction of second degree murder should be affirmed pursuant to State v. Mellons, 557 S.W.2d 497 (Tenn. 1977), despite insufficient evidence to support it. We hold that Mellons does not control the outcome of this case. We also hold that sufficient proof must support every element of the offense of which a defendant is convicted, even where the conviction offense is charged as a lesser-included offense and sufficient proof supports the greater offense. In this case, the trial court erred in charging the jury with second degree murder as a lesser-included offense of first degree felony murder. Because the proof is not sufficient to support it, we must reverse and vacate the conviction of second degree murder. However, because the proof is sufficient to support the offense of reckless homicide, we remand this matter to the trial court for (1) entry of an amended judgment reflecting a conviction of reckless homicide, and (2) sentencing on reckless homicide. The defendant is entitled to no relief on his remaining issues. The judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is affirmed in part and reversed in part.
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