Criminal Homicide Chapter 5

An Overview of Violent Crimes Crime defined by the FBI’s UCR as a serious crime against a person In United States primary source of crime data is FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Includes four crimes in category of serious violent crimes See Focus 5.1 Violent crime scene as whole See Figure 5.2

An Overview of Violent Crimes Estimated number in 2014 was 0.2% less than 2013 estimate Preliminary FBI data for first six months of 2015 revealed 1.7% increase over data for that period in 2014. FBI records both volume and rate of serious crimes Crime rate Number of crimes per 100,000 in population UCR reports crimes known to police and arrest data

Homicide Term refers to all cases in which a human being kills another human being by his or her own act, omission, or procurement Not all killings carry criminal culpability Excusable homicide Killing that is accidental or the result of self-defense or other circumstances that the law permits Justifiable homicide Killing that is intentional but carries no evil intent and is permitted by law

Homicide Some jurisdictions use only one term Criminal homicide Can be divided into categories Some jurisdictions define using Model Penal Code Use intent categories Others use term intentionally Result is same Categorization of murder by seriousness of act

Homicide: General Definitional Issues: Another Human Being Requirement Use of another human being precludes listing suicide within definition of homicide Term human being interpreted to be living human being Both must be defined and interpreted Requirement of living human being becomes issue when a fetus dies as result of crime against a pregnant woman Under common law fetus not considered person or human being Had to be born before death could be classified as homicide

Homicide: General Definitional Issues: Another Human Being Requirement Some jurisdictions require fetus be expelled from mother’s body and breathing on own Others require baby to cry or umbilical cord to be severed Born alive requirement may affect other crimes Infanticide Historically acceptable in some societies Abortion Decriminalization has resulted in a problem when during process, fetus is born alive

Homicide: General Definitional Issues: Another Human Being Requirement Decision regarding status of fetus has many implications Some jurisdictions have made statutory changes in common law requirement Now include fetus within murder statutes Some now allow pregnant women to be charged with criminal offense after giving birth to baby with fetal alcohol syndrome Or issues due to other substances

Homicide: General Definitional Issues: Another Human Being Requirement Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004 Signed into law after deaths of Laci and unborn son, Connor Peterson Other states have taken positions on this issue As of March 2015, 38 states had laws prohibiting fetal homicide Some jurisdictions have also established Baby Moses laws Laws protecting parent(s) who abandon their unwanted newborns in ways that will ensure health and safety infants Generally, permit parents to leave infants in designated safe places and avoid prosecution for abandonment or murder Such laws limit applicable time period

Homicide: General Definitional Issues: The Definition of Death Historically term was not defined legally Today definition has become critical issue in many homicide cases Organ transplantation has created need to define when death occurs Problem of when death occurs further complicated by growing number of living wills Resolution of these issues is critical

Homicide: Causation: Year-and-a-Day Rule Common law rule requiring that for murder charge, death of victim must occur within one year and one day from time alleged crime was committed Some jurisdictions incorporated rule into their statutes Failure to incorporate rule may be interpreted as abandonment of rule Rogers v. Tennessee (2001) Some jurisdictions have retained theory of rule but expanded time period

Homicide: Multiple Causation Year-and-a-day rule does not always solve causation problem because victim who died within time frame may have been subjected to more than one cause of death Who becomes responsible? Can also present problems when two or more parties commit separate acts, neither one of which would have been sufficient to cause death Courts look carefully at intent of individuals and nature of acts

Homicide: Causation: Corpus Delecti Literally means “body of the crime” Is required as corroborating evidence Provides additional data to support crime charged Some courts have abandoned requirement for some crimes Difficult if not impossible to get tangible corpus delecti

Murder Unlawful and unjustified killing of another human being (or fetus in some jurisdictions) with malice aforethought FBI combines murder and nonnegligent manslaughter Reported that volume of estimated combined crimes was 0.5% lower than in previous year Murder rate in 2014 approximately 1.2% lower than 2013 Preliminary data shows during first six months of 2015, number of murders increased by 6.2%

Murder: Elements Must be unlawful act (or omission) committed by human being Act must be accompanied by requisite mens rea Act must be legal cause of victim’s death Victim must be living human being Death must occur within reasonable period

Murder: Common Law Referred to unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought Some follow this definition Others have modified it Malice aforethought Killing must have been predetermined and intentional and without legal justification or excuse Is not used literally Over time concept has eroded

Murder: Common Law Malice may be inferred from acts Some jurisdictions have abandoned malice aforethought requirement Favor categories that define various types of murder Some may retain term to distinguish between first- and second-degree murder

Murder: Types: Intent to Kill Most common murders involve intent to kill Do not require acts; omissions are sufficient, provided legal duty to act exists May be shown when killing takes place under circumstances that would likely result in death Or when defendant articulates intent to kill Can be inferred from acts, although defendant can refute inference Common law provision it had to be premeditated is no longer required

Murder: Types: Intent to Inflict Great Bodily Harm Can be murder if death results from serious bodily injuries Even if no intent to kill Means harm greater than plain bodily injury but less than death Willar v. People (Mich. 1874) California statute

Murder: Types: Depraved Heart Killings resulting from extremely reckless conduct Said to be result of depraved mind, abandoned and malignant heart, or wickedness Defendant must create risk Courts differ in holdings on this matter Must be greater than that required in negligence cases Mississippi statute

Murder: Types: Capital Murder Used in states that provide for capital punishment Legislature may provide separate categories for which this penalty is available Mississippi statute Convictions do not necessarily mean he or she will be given that penalty

Murder: Types: Intent to Commit a Felony Unintended death resulting from commission of a felony Considered murder under common law Doctrine developed by statute Differs among jurisdictions Some limit crimes to which doctrine is applicable Others limit time period involved Some more restrictive on legal cause Some require killing be independent of felony Cases involving doctrine See Focus 5.2

Murder: Types: Murder for Hire When person hires another to commit murder Not uncommonly referred to by another name Aggravated first-degree murder Statute makes it clear this crime involves paying another person to commit the act

Murder: Degrees English common law did not have degrees Most modern statutes divide into at least two Capital murder may be separate category First-degree murder Includes deliberate, premediated, intent-to-kill murders, as well as felony murders Can include murders committed in specific ways or by use of specific methods One key element is premeditation Time required may be short Courts differ on interpretation of concept

Murder: Degrees Second-degree murder Any murder not included in first-degree murder Includes intent-to-kill murders not deliberate or premeditated, felony murders not considered first-degree, depraved heart murders, and intent-to-inflict-serious-bodily-harm murders (whether or not premeditated or deliberate) Problems determining premeditation and of distinguishing between first- and second-degree murders

Lesser Included Offenses Some jurisdictions provide juries may be instructed on lesser included offense Crime that is less serious than one charged Have some but not all elements of charged offense Must not include any element not required for that offense Prosecutor (or grand jury) can bring lesser included charges when they have sufficient evidence to bring maximum charge Defense may request for an instruction to jury for lesser included offense Judge makes final decision

Mercy Killing: An Exception to Murder? In some cases, deceased may have begged to be killed because of terminal illness, considerable and uncontrollable pain, or severe disability Also called euthanasia Technically meet requirements for murder and are illegal Often case is not prosecuted or juries do not convict Legal in some countries under restricted circumstances Illegal in United States

Physician Assisted Suicide (PAS) Society does not agree how mercy killings should be handled One solution is to legalize in some form PAS is one way to do this Washington v. Glucksberg (1997) and Vacco v. Quill (1997) U.S. Supreme Court upheld right of states to prohibit Oregon is first state to enact statute permitting it Washington became second state in 2009 Now also allowed in other states Montana Supreme Court refused to decide issue, but held act could constitute a defense if physician charged with homicide Baxter v. State (Mont. 2009)

Manslaughter Unlawful killing without malice aforethought Generally encompasses homicides not covered under first- or second-degree murder In many cases difficult to distinguish from murder Common law divided into two types Some jurisdictions have retained categories Others define in terms of degrees or use only single term

Voluntary Manslaughter Unlawful killing that does not involve malice aforethought but that occurs after adequate provocation Provocation that even reasonable people could be expected to react violently Must be proven Defendant was provoked Reasonable person would not have cooled off between such time and the killing Defendant did not cool off

Voluntary Manslaughter: Heat of Passion Term used under common law to describe voluntary manslaughter Followed by some states Some states also include extreme emotional or mental disturbance within this form

Voluntary Manslaughter: Manslaughter in Domestic Relations Provides difficulty of drawing line between murder and voluntary manslaughter Under common law and many modern statutes Assumed seeing one’s wife in adulterous situation was sufficient provocation for killing lover or wife A few jurisdictions extend this rule to women who caught husbands Provisions no longer in existence Burger v. State (Ga. 1977) Other circumstances may warrant manslaughter rather than murder charges

Voluntary Manslaughter: Manslaughter in Domestic Relations Under these other circumstances, law does not imply permissibility to kill, rather it is reasonable to be provoked to kill under circumstances that do not warrant justifiable or excusable homicide Courts use reasonable person (or objective) standard to determine provocation Some jurisdictions have extended voluntary manslaughter to other situations

Involuntary Manslaughter Killing that is committed recklessly but unintentionally Category usually applies to killing that results when defendant is engaged in criminal act less serious than felony Not always the case California Penal Code definition

Involuntary Manslaughter: Misdemeanor or Negligent Misdemeanor manslaughter Another term for involuntary manslaughter May also include deaths occurring as result of negligent manslaughter Killing that is not lawful or justified but does not involve malice or any other form of intent, only negligence Charges may be brought in cases where parental negligence results in child’s death

Involuntary Manslaughter: Vehicular and DUI Vehicular manslaughter Usually encompasses numerous types of vehicular homicides Including those caused by gross negligence Some state include in this category killings that result from accident while driver is intoxicated Those involving intoxication can also be prosecuted as involuntary manslaughter if no vehicular or DUI manslaughter statutes exist Charges can depend on prosecutorial discretion May be influenced by driver’s action or inaction

Involuntary Manslaughter: Failure to Act Can also bring manslaughter charges Examples Failure to render aid or summon help when one has put another in circumstances reasonably expected to cause bodily injury or death When one neglects to perform act they have legal duty to perform When actor assumes responsibility for someone who needs help and does not provide said help