People v. Allen

• Decision Date: 21 November 1973
• Docket Number: No. 54341,54341
• Citation: 390 Mich. 383,212 N.W.2d 21
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Jerome Wesley ALLEN, Defendant-Appellant. 390 Mich. 383, 212 N.W.2d 21
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

Page 21

212 N.W.2d 21

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v.Jerome Wesley ALLEN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 54341.

390 Mich. 383, 212 N.W.2d 21

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Nov. 21, 1973.

William L. Cahalan, Pros.Atty., Dominick R. Carnovale, Chief Appellate Department, Thomas M. Khalil, Asst. Pros.Atty., Detroit, for plaintiff-appellee.

State Appellate Defender Office, by Dennis H. Benson, Asst. Defender, Detroit, Marshall Redman, Asst. Atty., for defendant-appellant.

Before the Entire Bench except LEVIN, J.

PER CURIAM.

The question presented by this appeal is whether the corpus delicti of felony murder M.C.L.A. § 750.316;M.S.A. § 28.548 may be established without evidence independent of the accused person's confession of the essential element that distinguishes the offense of first degree murder from second degree murder.

For the reasons set forth in the dissenting opinion of Judge (now Justice) Levin in the Court of Appeals, 39 Mich.App. 483, 494, 197 N.W.2d 874(1972), we hold it may not.

We adopt the opinion of Justice Levin as the opinion of this Court.

Reversed, the judgment of conviction is modified to reduce the offense of which the defendant stands convicted to murder in the second degree and the...