OUJI-CR 9-29
EVIDENCE - DETERMINATION OF ACCOMPLICE STATUS BY JURY
As to the witness, [Name of Witness], you are instructed that you are to determine whether or not he/she is an accomplice to the crime of which the defendant here stands charged. If you determine that he/she is an accomplice, you cannot convict the defendant upon the testimony of [Name of Witness], unless you find that his/her testimony is corroborated as provided in these instructions.
Committee Comments
The trial court should be aware that the Court of Criminal Appeals decided in Matthews v. State, 1997 OK CR 3, ¶ 20, 953 P.2d 336, 343, that a defendant was entitled to an instruction requiring corroboration of the testimony of a witness who was an accomplice in a crime other than that for which the defendant was being tried. The test for determining whether a witness is an accomplice is whether the witness and defendant both could be indicted for the same offense. Id.; Carter v. State, 1994 OK CR 49, ¶ 29, 879 P.2d 1234, 1246, cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1172 (1995).
(2000 Supp.)