P. v. Wilkins

Summary

The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury that felony-murder liability during a burglary-related flight continues only until the perpetrator reaches a place of temporary safety. The continuous-transaction instruction given was incomplete and misleading because it did not tell the jury how to determine whether the escape had ended. Because the evidence could reasonably support a finding that defendant had reached temporary safety before the fatal accident, the error was prejudicial and required reversal.