Can a defendant use duress as a defense to murder?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Campbell, C073456 (Cal. App. 2015):

As defendant's proposed instruction (CALCRIM No. 3402) set forth, duress is not a defense to murder, as such, but in cases such as this one, where felony-murder is an available theory, duress can be used to negate the required elements of the underlying felony. (See People v. Anderson (2002) 28 Cal.4th 767, 784.)

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