In re Ferrell

Summary

The court granted habeas corpus relief because the jury was instructed on a second degree felony-murder theory that was legally invalid, and the unelaborated verdict did not establish that the jury convicted on a valid theory. Applying harmless-error review, the court held that the firearm-use finding and the trial evidence did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury necessarily found the subjective mental state required for implied malice. The court vacated the judgment insofar as it rested on the second degree murder conviction.