Benson v. State

Summary

The court affirmed Benson’s convictions for malice murder and related offenses. It held that Benson waived review of the absence of a written immunity order, that the trial court properly denied immunity because the evidence did not establish justification by a preponderance of the evidence, and that exclusion of the victim’s prior-acts evidence was within the court’s discretion. The court also held that counsel was not ineffective for omitting a defense-of-personal-property instruction because focusing on stronger justification theories was a reasonable strategy.