Flowers v. State, 2010 Miss. LEXIS 584

Flowers burglarized a dwelling claiming someone was trying to shoot him and he fled into the home to escape the attacker.
A neighbor detained Flowers with a hunting rifle after witnessing the break-in and alerted police.
At trial, Flowers requested a jury instruction on the defense of necessity; the trial court refused without comment.
Flowers was convicted of house burglary and sentenced to ten years in prison.
The Court of Appeals affirmed; the Mississippi Supreme Court granted certiorari.
The Court reverses, holding the trial court erred by failing to instruct on the defense of necessity and remands for a new trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred in refusing a necessity instruction	Flowers established prima facie evidence of necessity	Necessity is not applicable or the instruction is improper	Reversed and remanded for new trial

Knight v. State, 601 So. 2d 403 (Miss. 1992) (established three elements of necessity)
Davis v. State, 18 So. 3d 842 (Miss. 2009) (addressed harmlessness of necessity instructions)
Green v. State, 884 So. 2d 733 (Miss. 2004) (right to jury instructions on theory of defense when evidentiary basis exists)
Rubenstein v. State, 941 So. 2d 735 (Miss. 2006) (standard for reviewing jury instructions; include favorable-inference approach)
Anderson v. State, 571 So.2d 961 (Miss. 1990) (instructional review requires considering evidence in light most favorable to defendant)