Commonwealth v. Franklin, 465 Mass. 895

Defendant convicted of first‑degree murder by deliberate premeditation for killing John Falcone.
The defense challenges admissibility of victim’s statements about threats as motive without proof defendant knew of them.
Morning events: victim received fake crack cocaine, became upset, confronted defendant, and threats allegedly made by victim about damaging the defendant’s mother’s home.
Edmondson, Kirsha Hilliard, and Nina Hall testified to threats and to the surrounding confrontation; Luyo provided a contested eyewitness identification.
Carlos Hill’s grand jury statements about a confession were admitted as substantive evidence under Daye; 33E review affirmed the verdict and declined relief.
Court affirmed the convictions and declined to order a new trial or reduce the degree of guilt under c. 278, § 33E.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of victim’s threats as motive	Commonwealth argued threats show motive; defendant knew.	Evidence insufficient that defendant knew of threats.	Admissible with inferred knowledge and motive.
Eyewitness identification instruction	Instruction not required to convict.	Failure to request an instruction harmed fairness.	Not likely to influence verdict; no reversible error.
Prosecutor’s closing arguments	Arguments within bounds; no serious prejudice.	Multiple improper points.	Only one improper statement; no substantial miscarriage.
Weight of the evidence under c. 278, § 33E	Weight favors conviction; not against justice.	Record shows inconsistencies; warrants new trial or lesser degree.	Weight of the evidence supports verdict; no new trial or reduction.

Commonwealth v. Daye, 393 Mass. 55 (Mass. 1984) (admission of prior grand jury statements for consistency)
Commonwealth v. Qualls, 425 Mass. 163 (Mass. 1997) (state-of-mind evidence requires defendant awareness of victim’s mind)
Commonwealth v. Sharpe, 454 Mass. 135 (Mass. 2009) (prejudicial error standard for evidentiary decisions)
Commonwealth v. Walker, 460 Mass. 590 (Mass. 2011) (ineffective assistance framework for claims not under strict Strickland standard)
Commonwealth v. Gonzalez, 443 Mass. 799 (Mass. 2005) (standard for assessing ineffective counsel under §33E)
Commonwealth v. Pressley, 390 Mass. 617 (Mass. 1983) (requirement to give identification instruction when requested)
Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 378 Mass. 296 (Mass. 1979) (Rodriguez identification instruction framework)
Commonwealth v. Pires, 453 Mass. 66 (Mass. 2009) (comparison with Pressley instruction; avoid harm in including guidance)
Commonwealth v. Daye, 393 Mass. 55 (Mass. 1984) (See Daye; admissibility of prior inconsistent statements)