Commonwealth v. Felix

by
After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree on the theory of deliberate premeditation. Defendant was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Supreme Judicial Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction and the order denying his motion for a new trial and declined to grant relief under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 278, 33E, holding (1) Defendant’s trial counsel did not render ineffective assistance by failing to request a jury instruction on voluntary manslaughter; (2) the trial court did not commit reversible error by declining Defendant’s request to give instructions on voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; and (3) the absence of these instructions did not constitute error requiring reversal of Defendant’s conviction and a new trial. View "Commonwealth v. Felix" on Justia Law