OPINION
{1} Following a horseback-riding accident, Defendant Robert Leon Magby was convicted of child abuse resulting in death. We hold that the trial court improperly refused a jury instruction tendered by defense counsel, resulting in the distinct possibility of juror confusion as to the mens rea necessary for conviction. We therefore reverse Magbj^s conviction and remand for a new trial.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL POSTURE
{2} Four-year-old Heather Naylor was killed when she fell from the back of the horse she was riding with her mother, Cheryl Naylor. According to Cheryl, just prior to the accident Magby had been “joking around” with her and “playfully” removed the bridle and bit from her horse, which was standing still at the time. Suddenly, the horse bolted into a gallop, and without a bridle or bit, Cheryl was unable to control the animal or slow it down. Heather was thrown to the ground, and her mother jumped from the horse to assist her. Heather suffered grievous injuries, and she died soon after being transported to a nearby hospital.
{3} The State filed a criminal information against Magby as follows:
On or about the 10th day of February, 1995, the above-named defendant negligently caused Heather Naylor, a child, to be placed in a situation that might endanger her life or health, resulting in the death of Heather Naylor, contrary to NMSA 1978, § 30-6-1 [1973, as amended through 1989].
(Emphasis added.) Magby was charged with abuse of a child resulting in death, a first-degree felony, contrary to Section 30-6-l(C). Section 30-6-1(0 provides, in pertinent part, that “[a]buse of a child consists of a person knowingly, intentionally or negligently, and without justifiable cause, causing or permitting a child to be ... placed in a situation that may endanger the child’s life or health
{4} There were several eyewitnesses who testified at trial, but none had any idea why Cheryl’s horse had bolted. • Cheryl testified that the horse seemed to be driven by fear. Neither Cheryl nor any other witness, however, observed anything that might have spooked the horse. The horse was uniformly described as a “quiet, gentle horse,” “real sweet and gentle,” and “real gentle-natured .” One witness, however, testified that the only horse that is totally predictable is one that is “stuffed,” and Magby’s expert witness, a horse trainer, characterized Mag-by’s act of removing the bridle and bit as “unwise” though not “reckless.”
{5} The jury was instructed:
To find that Robert Leon Magby negligently caused child abuse to occur, you. must find that Robert Leon Magby knew or should have known of the danger involved and acted with a reckless disregard for the safety or health of Heáther Naylor; ....
(Emphases added.) See UJI 14-602 NMRA 1998 (negligent child abuse instruction). As we discuss more fully below, the trial court refused defense counsel’s tender of an instruction defining the term “reckless disregard.”
{6} The trial court, at the request of the State, further instructed the jury in the following manner:
In addition to the other elements of child abuse resulting in death, the state must prove to your satisfaction beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant acted intentionally when he committed the crime. A person acts intentionally ivhen he purposely does an act which the law declares to be a crime, even though he may not know that his act is unlawful. Whether the defendant acted intentionally may be inferred from all of the surrounding circumstances, such as the manner in which he acts, the means used, his conduct [and] any statements made by him.
(Emphasis added.) See UJI 14-141 NMRA 1998 (general criminal intent instruction).
{7} The jury found Magby guilty of child abuse resulting in death. Pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 31 — 18—15(A)(1) (1977, as amended through 1994) (prescribing basic penalty for non-capital, first-degree felony), the trial judge sentenced Magby to 18 years’ imprisonment, but mitigated the sentence to 12 years because “Defendant did not have any intent to injure the victim.” See NMSA 1978, § 31-18-15.1 (1979, as amended in 1993) (allowing for mitigation of up to one-third of sentence). Magby appealed his conviction, and the New Mexico Court of Appeals certified the case to this Court. We accepted certification and now take this opportunity to clarify the proper jury instructions to be given in proceedings where a defendant is charged with negligent child abuse.
DISCUSSION
Standard of Review
{8} “The propriety of jury instructions given or denied is a mixed question of law and fact.” State v. Salazar,
Whether the Trial Court Erred in Refusing Defense Counsel’s Requested Instruction
{9} Defense counsel tendered the following instruction:
For you to find that the Defendant acted recklessly in this case, you must find that he knew or should have known that his conduct created a substantial and foreseeable risk, that he disregarded that risk and that he was wholly indifferent to the consequences of his conduct and to the welfare and safety of others.
This instruction is patterned on the definition of “recklessly” contained in UJI 14-1704 NMRA 1998 for use in negligent arson cases. Magby argues that the instruction was necessary to prevent the jury from convicting him of mere civil negligence, as opposed to the criminal negligence standard required by Santillanes v. State,
{10} In Santillanes, this Court construed Section 30-6-1, which remained unchanged at the time of Magby’s trial, '“as aiming to punish conduct that is morally culpable, not merely inadvertent.”
{11} The facts presented in Santillanes, however, did not prompt us to consider the need for an instruction defining “reckless disregard” in cases alleging criminally negligent child abuse. There, we were able to determine, as a matter of law, that “no rational jury could have concluded that Santillanes cut his nephew’s throat ... without satisfying the standard of criminal negligence that we have adopted today.”
{12} In this case, Magby calls our attention to the possibility of juror confusion over the concept of “reckless disregard” as it is used in UJI 14-602. Magby contends that UJI 14-602 could confuse jurors on the critical issue of mens rea because it uses the words “negligently” and “with a reckless disregard” in the same sentence, essentially equating the two concepts. See supra ¶ 5 (jury instruction modeled on UJI 14-602). The dictionary definitions of these terms are indeed very similar, “negligent” being defined as:
1. Habitually guilty of neglect; lacking in due care or concern.
2. Extremely careless, and “reckless” as:
1. a. Heedless or careless, b. Headstrong; rash.
2. Having no regard for consequences; uncontrolled; wild.
The American Heritage Dictionary 879, 1088 (1973) (examples omitted); see Webster’s II, New Riverside Dictionary 471, 585 (Office ed.1984) (defining “negligent” as “Marked by or inclined to neglect, esp. habitually” and “Extremely heedless” and defining “reckless” as “Careless” and “Heedless of consequences: rash”).
{13} Absent express definition of a term in an instruction, words in jury instructions should usually be understood according to their ordinary meaning. Cf. Santillanes,
{14} “Use of an ambiguous jury instruction will constitute reversible error where a reasonable juror would have been confused or misdirected by that instruction.” State v. Sosa,
{15} In view of the foregoing dictionary definitions of “negligent” and “reckless,” there is a distinct possibility that the jury understood the applicable negligence standard to criminalize “careless” conduct or perhaps only “extremely careless” conduct. Neither understanding is correct. See State v. Yarborough,
{16} Defense counsel’s tendered instruction would have cured this ambiguity by defining the concept “reckless disregard” in detail and in a separate instruction from the confusing reference to “negligently” in UJI 14-602. In this way, the distinct possibility of juror confusion over the mens rea necessary for conviction could have been avoided. We therefore hold that the trial court improperly refused defense counsel’s curative instruction. See State v. Mankiller,
{17} We note that virtually every uniform jury instruction that utilizes the terms “reckless” or “recklessly” provides for an express definition of those terms. See UJI 13-861 NMRA 1998 (punitive damages in contracts and UCC sales cases); UJI 13-1009, -1011, -1012 NMRA 1998 (defamation); UJI 13-1827 NMRA 1998 (punitive damages generally); UJI 14-240, -240A, -241 (homicide or great bodily injury by vehicle); UJI 14-342, -343, -344 NMRA 1998 (shooting at or from a motor vehicle); UJI 14-1703, -1704 NMRA 1998 (negligent arson); UJI 14-4504 NMRA 1998 (reckless driving). But see UJI 13-1628 NMRA 1998 (intentional infliction of emotional distress); UJI 13-1633 NMRA 1998 (fraud); UJI 14-602, -603, -604, -605 NMRA 1998 (negligently causing or permitting child abuse). Of the instructions that do not expressly define “reckless” or “recklessly,” only UJI 14-602 through -605 involve considerations of negligence. An express definition of “reckless disregard” would be particularly appropriate for these instructions because the distinction between criminal negligence and civil negligence turns on an understanding of the concept of recklessness. See Harris,
{18} We stress that our holding on the negligent child abuse instruction tendered in this case is not applicable retroactively to other cases. As in Santillanes, our holding has only prospective application to cases in which a verdict has not been reached and those cases on direct review in which the issue was raised and preserved below. See
{19} We recognize, as the State points out, that UJI 14-602 as currently written tracks the statutory elements of the offense defined in Section 30-6-1(0 and that, except for its omission of the adjective “criminal” before “negligence,” the instruction reflects the language of Santillanes. See State v. Fuentes,
{20} The State also argues that Magby “withdrew” his tendered instruction defining “reckless disregard” and that, therefore, this issue was not properly preservéd for review in this Court. Contrary to the State’s argument, however, the record shows that the trial court individually marked Mag-b/s requested instructions “Refused,” not “Withdrawn,” signing his name below each such designation. Moreover, as the State acknowledges, there was considerable disagreement between the parties concerning the proper instructions to give the jury, and each side had the opportunity to contest the other’s requested instructions, with the trial court ultimately concluding, “I’m going to stick with the UJIBased on these circumstances, we conclude that this issue was properly preserved. See Garcia ex rel. Garcia v. La Farge,
Whether Instructing the Jury on General Criminal Intent Amounts to Reversible Error
{21} Magby argues that the trial court should not have instructed the jury on general criminal intent because the State’s theory of prosecution throughout the case was exclusively that Magby’s conduct was negligent. The State concedes that the instruction should not have been given, but contends that the error was harmless. In light of our holding on the failure of the trial court to accept the criminal negligence instruction tendered by defense counsel, it would be a speculative exercise for us to try to determine whether the intent instruction was only harmless error. We therefore do not reach this issue.
CONCLUSION
{22} The trial court improperly refused defense counsel’s tendered instruction defining the term “reckless disregard” in UJI 14-602. We therefore reverse Magby’s conviction and remand for a new trial. UJI 14-602 through -605 are to be modified by the UJI Criminal Committee to include a definition of “reckless disregard.” In the meantime, the instruction tendered by defense counsel in this case will serve as an adequate definition of that term.
{23} IT IS SO ORDERED.