APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

This is an appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County which convicted the defendant of premeditated first degree murder, especially aggravated robbery and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. The defendant filed a motion for a new trial and argued that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for premeditated murder. The court overruled the motion, and the defendant appealed. The Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a finding that the defendant was the principal actor in causing the death of the victim. Nevertheless, the court found that his conviction could be sustained under a theory of criminal responsibility for premeditated murder because premeditated murder was a natural and probable consequence of aggravated robbery under the facts of the case. We then granted the defendant's application for permission to appeal. We hold that the natural and probable consequences rule can be used to sustain a defendant's conviction for first-degree premeditated murder based upon criminal responsibility for the conduct of a co-defendant. The jury, however, must be instructed on all elements of a charge of criminal responsibility, including the natural and probable consequences rule. Because the jury was not instructed on the natural and probable consequences rule, the defendant's conviction for first degree premeditated murder is reversed, and this case is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.

In this appeal, we address whether prior inconsistent statements can be used substantively to corroborate a confession when the prior statements are admitted into evidence without objection. We also consider whether the failure of the trial court to instruct the jury as to the limited use of the prior statements constitutes plain error. The Court of Criminal Appeals held that prior inconsistent statements could not be used as substantive evidence and that the failure of the trial court in this case to give a limiting instruction amounted to plain error. For the reasons stated herein, we hold that by not objecting to the admission of the statements, the appellee waived any objection to their use by the jury as substantive evidence to corroborate the appellee’s two confessions. Consequently, we hold that the evidence in this case is sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Finally, because the decision to forgo any objection to the hearsay testimony was a deliberate, tactical decision by trial counsel, we are precluded from considering admission of the evidence under a plain error analysis. We reverse the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals and reinstate the appellee’s conviction and sentence for aggravated sexual battery.