42 N.E.3d 972
Ind.2015Background
- On Oct. 3, 2012, juveniles Blake Layman (16) and Levi Sparks (17) and others broke into Rodney Scott’s home intending to commit theft; they were unarmed. Scott, awake upstairs, fired his gun during the intrusion; co-perpetrator Danzele Johnson was killed and Layman was wounded.
- The State directly filed murder charges in adult criminal court under Indiana’s direct-filing statute because the juveniles were ≥16; Layman, Sparks, Quiroz, and Sharp were charged with felony murder (burglary as underlying felony).
- Quiroz pleaded guilty and testified; Layman and Sparks were tried jointly, convicted of felony murder, and sentenced (Layman 55 years, Sparks 50 years; Court of Appeals later modified sentences).
- On transfer to the Indiana Supreme Court, appellants raised multiple constitutional challenges (direct-filing, Eighth Amendment, proportionality) and argued the felony-murder statute was inapplicable because the death of a co-felon by a nonparticipant was not foreseeable in the circumstances.
- The Supreme Court declined to address forfeited constitutional claims and held that, although Palmer (and progeny) remain good law permitting felony-murder liability when a co-felon is killed by a nonparticipant if death was a foreseeable consequence of dangerous felonious conduct, the facts here differed: the defendants were unarmed and did not engage in threatening/violent conduct that made the death reasonably foreseeable.
- The Court reversed Layman’s and Sparks’ felony-murder convictions, remanded to enter verdicts of guilty to burglary (class B as charged/treated at trial) and for resentencing accordingly.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the court should revisit/overrule Palmer (holding accomplice felony-murder liability where co-felon is killed by nonparticipant) | State: Palmer is controlling precedent that permits felony-murder liability when death is a foreseeable consequence of felonious conduct | Layman/Sparks: Palmer was wrongly decided; statute’s plain text does not cover cases where defendant did not kill the victim; should be overruled (or limited for juveniles) | Court refused to overrule Palmer; applied stare decisis and legislative acquiescence to retain Palmer |
| Whether felony-murder applied here—i.e., was co-felon’s death reasonably foreseeable given defendants’ conduct | State: Entering a dwelling to commit felony created dangerous situation; felony-murder therefore sustainable | Layman/Sparks: They and their cohort were unarmed and did not engage in violent or threatening conduct that would make a third-party shooting reasonably foreseeable | Court: Evidence insufficient to support felony-murder because, unlike Palmer/Jenkins/Forney, defendants were unarmed and did not create foreseeable risk of death; reversed felony-murder convictions |
| Whether appellate courts should decide newly raised constitutional challenges (direct-filing, juvenile brain development, Eighth Amendment) | Appellants urged review on constitutional grounds | State argued claims were forfeited for not being raised at trial | Court declined to reach constitutional claims: they were forfeited and, alternatively, unnecessary to decide because case resolved on nonconstitutional grounds |
| Appropriate remedy after vacating felony-murder conviction | State sought to uphold conviction or retry? (record unclear) | Defendants opposed re-sentencing on enhanced offenses based on single injury used for murder | Court: Remanded to enter guilty verdicts for burglary as a class B felony (the lesser-included offense charged/instructed) and resentence accordingly; discussed but did not definitively resolve potential enhancement issues for class A burglary |
Key Cases Cited
- Palmer v. State, 704 N.E.2d 124 (Ind. 1999) (held felony-murder may apply when a co-perpetrator is killed by a nonparticipant if death was a foreseeable consequence of defendant’s felonious conduct)
- Jenkins v. State, 726 N.E.2d 268 (Ind. 2000) (affirming felony-murder liability where defendants engaged in violent, threatening conduct leading to co-perpetrator’s death)
- Forney v. State, 742 N.E.2d 934 (Ind. 2001) (same: accomplice felony-murder affirmed where violent robbery led to co-perpetrator’s death)
- Douglass v. State, 466 N.E.2d 721 (Ind. 1984) (the underlying felony is a lesser included offense of felony murder)
- Richardson v. State, 717 N.E.2d 32 (Ind. 1999) (double jeopardy framework comparing statutory elements and actual evidence)
- Kingery v. State, 659 N.E.2d 490 (Ind. 1995) (limits on using same act to enhance one offense and also as act element of murder)