Gregory Aaron Kinsey, Appellant v. State of Arkansas, Appellee

Summary

The court affirmed Kinsey’s convictions and consecutive sentences for first- and second-degree murder. It held that Kinsey failed to preserve his sufficiency challenge because his directed-verdict motions did not identify the specific justification elements allegedly lacking, that the model self-defense instruction adequately stated the applicable law, and that his broad questioning opened the door to evidence of prior aggression during sentencing. Justice Danielson, dissenting, would have held that the self-defense instruction improperly omitted the State’s burden to disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt.