C.A. 4th;
D069445

The Fourth Appellate District affirmed in part and reversed in part judgments of conviction. The court held that the trial court erred prejudicially in instructing the jury that all accomplice testimony, including exculpatory testimony, required corroboration.

Kiesha Smith and Michael Mitchell killed a 90-year old woman while burglarizing her home. They were tried jointly for murder. In his testimony, Mitchell made various statements tending to exonerate Smith. There was no evidence to corroborate this testimony. The trial court instructed the jury that any testimony from an accomplice required corroborating evidence before the jury might accept it as true. As to Mitchell, the trial court admitted as evidence Smith's statements to acquaintances that she and Mitchell had burglarized an elderly woman's home. They subdued the woman by tying her up and putting a pillowcase over her head. The woman did not stop screaming until Mitchell hit her. The trial court found the out-of-court statements admissible as statements against Smith's penal interest. Both defendants were found guilty.