Criminal Law for the Criminal Justice Professional Norman M. Garland Fourth Edition Chapter 8 ©McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Authorized only for instructor use in the classroom.  No reproduction or further distribution permitted without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.

Chapter 8 Criminal Homicide 8.1 Homicide 8.2 Elements of criminal homicide 8.3 Types and degrees of criminal homicide 8.4 Murder 8.5 Manslaughter Chapter 8 Criminal Homicide

Chapter Objectives Distinguish between homicide and criminal homicide List the rules defining when life begins and ends for criminal homicide List the essential elements of murder Explain the felony murder rule

Chapter Objectives (continued) Distinguish between first-degree and second-degree murder Describe the Model Penal Code’s definition of murder Explain the difference between justification and excuse defenses Describe the differences in voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and murder

8.1 Homicide Homicide Criminal homicide Malice aforethought The killing of one human being by another Any act that causes the death of another person with criminal intent and without lawful justification or excuse Malice aforethought Under modern law, any one of four mental states that reveal the intent to (1) kill, (2) inflict grievous bodily injury, (3) show extreme reckless disregard for human life, or (4) commit a felony that results in another’s death

Feticide and Criminal Abortions Definition of a human being is not always limited to a child born alive Born-alive rule The common law rule defining the beginning of life, for purposes of criminal homicide, as the birth of a live child

Feticide and Criminal Abortions (continued) Four types of fetal homicide Viability, when fetus is developed enough to survive outside the womb Quickening, or first movement, of the fetus When an embryo becomes a fetus Conception Feticide The unlawful killing of a fetus

Infanticide In cases involving the death of newborns, particularly in settings other than hospitals, officials always question to determine if: Child was born alive and physically separated from the mother’s womb Child showed independent respiration and heartbeat at the time of death All states consider killing a newborn child, known as an infanticide, a homicide

The End of Life To consider an act a homicide, defendant’s conduct must have caused the death of somebody who was alive at the time of the act 32 states have adopted Uniform Determination of Death Act Irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions Irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain, including the brain stem

The Right to Die As individual rights to privacy and autonomy expand, and the question arises whether individuals have the right to end their lives Assisted suicide - Act of aiding or abetting another to commit suicide Criminal by statute in 39 states Euthanasia differs from physician-assisted suicide People v. Cleaves

Application Case 8.1 Keeler v. Superior Court

Figure 8.1 - Definition of Person for Purposes of Homicide, by State

8.2 Elements of Criminal Homicide An act or omission That causes the death Of another human being With criminally culpable mens rea Without lawful justification or excuse Premeditation and deliberation The mental state that raises second-degree murder to first-degree murder in jurisdictions that classify murder into two or more levels. It implies a cold-blooded killing

Corpus Delicti Requirement Prosecution cannot use defendant’s statements or confession alone to prove that a crime has been committed There must be proof that the victim died as a result of the accused person’s criminal act Corpus delicti The required proof that a crime has been committed. In homicide cases, this usually means the corpse of the victim

Actus Reus Act that produces death must be voluntary Examples of involuntary condition Knowingly driving while sleepy Knowingly drinking to the point of passing out Disregarding advice from doctors by driving or operating dangerous equipment knowing that one is subject to heart failure or epilepsy Driving or operating dangerous equipment while on a psychoactive substance One can be criminally liable for failure to act

Mens Rea Distinguishes murder from lesser forms of criminal homicide Killing is difficult to establish Determination is made at some later point Defendant’s state of mind can only be established by circumstantial evidence Murder Manslaughter The killing of another with the mental element of malice aforethought The killing of another without the mental element of malice aforethought

Model Penal Code Mental states specified are designed to be more concise and understandable than the vague common law term “malice” Criminal homicide - Murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide and if a person purposely caused a suicide Aiding or soliciting suicide is punishable as an independent second-degree felony if one’s conduct causes a suicide or suicide attempt

Inference of Mens Rea from Circumstantial Evidence Prosecutor must introduce evidence of circumstances surrounding the death Act of pointing a gun and shooting someone dead is evidence of an intent to kill Identifying a reason why a particular defendant killed a particular victim is useful to prosecution

Causation For a defendant to be held criminally responsible for causing the death of another human being, the victim must be alive at time of the defendant’s actions Year-and-a-day rule Year-and-a-day rule The causation rule that requires that, in order to classify a killing as a homicide, the victim must die within a year and a day after the act causing death occurred

The “But-For” Test and Multiple Causes Victim would not be dead “but-for” the actions of the defendant Intervening acts have raised special concerns Courts have determined that such complications as medical malpractice and intervening criminal acts of others are foreseeable consequences Causation may become a critical issue when the actus reus of the criminal homicide is an omission Any individual characteristic that contributes to the victim’s death is an important factor

The “Substantial Factor” Test If two or more forces sufficient to cause death occur simultaneously, “but-for” test of causation fails If medical examination establishes that each shooter’s conduct was a “substantial factor” in bringing about the victim’s death, each may be held liable for causing the victim’s death

Without Lawful Justification or Excuse Justification means the actor had a right or privilege to engage in conduct that otherwise would have been criminal Lethal force justified in defense of human life, but not for the sole purpose of protecting property Defendant may have a legal excuse when death occurs under circumstances that the law recognizes as lacking moral culpability

Application Cases (continued 1) 8.2 People v. Kimes and Kimes 8.3 People v. Newton 8.4 Kibbe v. Henderson

Figure 8.2 - Current Status of the Year-and-a-Day Rule, by State

8.3 Definition of Criminal Homicide Unless there are circumstances that excuse the killing: All killings with malice are murder All killings without malice are manslaughter Types and degrees of homicide Murder Voluntary manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter

8.4 Murder Requires elements of criminal homicides Actus reus Mens rea Causation Death of the victim Lack of lawful justification or excuse Includes death due to recklessness Mens rea for murder is present if the accused causes a death while committing a felony

Malice Aforethought Malice A state of mind connoting an “abandoned and malignant heart.” It is not limited to the specific intent to kill, since even a wanton or reckless state of mind may constitute malice

The Felony Murder Rule Felony murder rule The rule that when the accused kills in the course of committing a felony, the mens rea for murder is present in the intent to commit the felony, and therefore murder has been committed

The Felony Murder Rule (continued) Potential victims of felony murder Intended victim Innocent bystanders Law enforcement officers Non–law enforcement persons attempting to rescue the victim All co-felons Inherently dangerous felonies Felonies involving conduct that is inherently dangerous to human life, such as rape, arson, and armed robbery

Reckless Disregard for the Value of Human Life In the absence of felony murder liability, prosecution for murder can still be pursued on the theory of reckless indifference to the value of human life Includes drag racing on public streets and games of Russian roulette

The Division of Murder into Degrees First degree murder in Pennsylvania Willful, deliberate, and premeditated killings Killings perpetrated in one of a number of specific ways Killings that occur during perpetration or attempt of an enumerated felony Capital murder A charge of murder with the maximum punishment of death, often called murder in the first degree

The Division of Murder into Degrees (continued 1) First degree murder in California Planning activity prior to the killing Evidence of a motive Manner of killing “so particular and exacting that defendant must have intentionally killed according to a ‘preconceived design’”

The Division of Murder into Degrees (continued 2) Elevation to first-degree murder Second-degree murder can be elevated to first- degree murder by premeditation and deliberation Jurors evaluate prior calculation and design

Degrees of Murder under MPC Notes that “murder is a felony of the first degree" Specifies the circumstances under which a person convicted of murder may be sentenced to death

Defenses to Murder Standard of proof is usually a preponderance of evidence, which is considerably lower than beyond a reasonable doubt

Application Cases (continued 2) 8.5 People v. Stamp 8.6 Taylor v. Superior Court 8.7 People v. Anderson 8.8 State v. Gounagias People v. Berry 8.9 Law v. State

Figure 8.3: The Five Possible Mental States That Comprise Malice Aforethought

8.5 Manslaughter A person is guilty of voluntary manslaughter if the accused had an intent to kill or to cause great bodily harm, under provocation, mistaken justification, and/or diminished mental capacity Voluntary manslaughter An intentional, unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought

Voluntary Manslaughter Provocation Mitigation The reduction, or lessening, of a penalty or punishment imposed by law Adequate provocation When the acts or conduct of the person killed would be sufficient to cause a person of reasonable, ordinary temperament to lose self-control

Voluntary Manslaughter (continued) Mistaken justification (imperfect self-defense) Diminished mental capacity Imperfect self-defense A partial defense that reduces a murder charge to voluntary manslaughter, where the claim of self-defense fails because it is not objectively reasonable but is honestly believed by the accused

Involuntary Manslaughter A criminal homicide that encompasses a killing done without intent to kill, and without such indifference to human life as to constitute implied malice, as a result of criminally negligent conduct on the part of the defendant Commonwealth v. Welansky Commonwealth v. Malone

Involuntary Manslaughter (continued) Negligent homicide A criminal homicide committed by a person who has neglected to exercise the degree of care that an ordinary person would have exercised under the same circumstances Vehicular manslaughter A criminal homicide in which the perpetrator caused a death while operating a motor vehicle, either by gross negligence or while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs

Application Case (continued 3) 8.10 Montana v. Egelhoff