People v. Johnson

Defendant, then age 17, was convicted by separate jury in simultaneous trial, of first-degree murder on accountability theory. Prosecutor inappropriately inflamed passions and prejudices of jury, in closing argument, by comparing Defendant to Nazis. State did not prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Defendant was accountable for another person's shooting of victim. Simply driving someone away, whether or not driving the shooter away, does not support accountability verdict. There can be no common design to shoot a victim, if there is no evidence that Defendant knew that his codefendant was armed. Defendant's presence at crime scene, his knowledge that a crime had been committed, and subsequent flight do not constitute accountability. Evidence at retrial was so lacking that a subsequent retrial would violate double jeopardy. (PALMER and TAYLOR, concurring.)