Lyles v. Indiana

How later courts describe this case

• “a party who fails to object to a jury instruction at trial may not later raise the issue”
• no actual prejudice from introduction of inadmissible hearsay regarding petitioner’s intent where petitioner found not guilty of first-degree murder
• question of merger should be resolved before rendering a conclusion as to whether the total sentence constituted cruel and unusual punishment
• "we reject [the] contention that [the child's] out-of-court statements... are per se unreliable, or at least presumptively unreliable, on the ground that the trial court found [the child] incompetent to testify at trial"
• the natural consequence of repeatedly kicking the victim in the head while he was on the floor bleeding is to cause serious physical injury; the evidence was sufficient, therefore, for a jury to find that the defendant attempted to kill or cause, serious physical injury