In theory, the felony murder doctrine makes sense and seems like it could aid in crime prevention according to choice theory. The felony murder doctrine is a rule that allows a defendant to be charged with first degree murder even if the intent to kill was not present. In order for the felony murder doctrine to be used, the defendant must have taken part in a dangerous felony that resulted in the death of a person. Even if the defendant did not kill anyone, if a person dies while they are commiting a dangerous felony, the defendant can be charged with first degree murder. Dangerous felonies include burglary, robbery, rape, arson, and kidnapping. The rationale of this rule is that some crimes are so dangerous, society wants to deter individuals …show more content…
With the felony murder rule, a defendant can be convicted of murder without intent or proof of reckless indifference. Only proof that the defendant was involved in a dangerous felony in which a death took place is necessary. Because the felony murder doctrine makes a murder conviction easier, unjust punishments have arisen. An example of this is Ryan Holle’s case. Ryan Holle was charged with first degree murder for lending his car to his roommate who then, along with a group of other men, used it for transportation in a burglary and the homicide of Jessica Snyder. Ryan Holle admits that his roommate told him they were planning to break into Jessica Snyder’s house, but Holle did not take them seriously. Because Holle’s roommate and the other men used his car in the homicide, Holle was charged with first degree murder under the felony murder doctrine. Holle was originally sentenced to life in prison without parole (McGivern). In the constitution, the eighth amendment states that the punishment for a crime must be proportional to the criminal act. Holle’s sentence is unjust and unconstitutional because his punishment was not reasonable compared to his involvement with the murder of Jessica
On his appeal the courts reversed the conviction due to improper evidence being submitted during his trial. However, after a retrial, Bolin was convicted and the jury recommended death. The Supreme Court sentenced him to death finding four aggravating factors: that Bolin was a previously convicted violent felon; the murder of Ms. Matthews was cold, calculated, and premeditated (CCP); the murder was heinous, atrocious or cruel (HAC); and that the murder was committed during a felony
86 Cal. App. 623 states that PC 189, the felony murder rule, imposes liability for deaths that occur as a felony is being carried out even if the killing was intentional or accidental. The purpose of this law is to deter people from killing negligently or accidently.
If criminally charged, list the defendant’s charges and describe if it is a misdemeanor or felony with outlines of sentencing guidelines. First and second degree murder are considered felony. What if?
While many opponents argue the economics of the issue, they fail to acknowledge that the main goals of punishment are to correct behavior that is deviant from the law and to prevent similar incidences from occurring. Without capital punishment, the culprits would not have to confront the potential of death, meaning that the marginal cost of violent crime would be diminished. Therefore, capital punishment is an effective method to deter
Brent Bishop’s punishment is unreasonable and intolerable because his actions leads to a killing. He was convicted of manslaughter and drunk driving. Manslaughter means the crime of killing someone by accident. The situation creates a devastation for the victim’s family. Even though he has a the feeling of guilt inside him, it is not the right retribution, or a justly deserved penalty, for him.
At the trial, the jury was told they could consider aggravating circumstances. They were also allowed to consider whether the rape had been committed while committing another capital felony and that the rape had been committed by a person with a prior record with a conviction for a capital felony (Brody & Acker, 2010). The jury was also told that even if aggravating circumstances were there, the death penalty did not have to be imposed if the jury decided they were outweighed by mitigating circumstances (Brody & Acker, 2010). The jury found Coked guilty of all charges and was sentenced for the rape charge as death by electrocution because of two aggravating circumstances and under Georgia law justifies the death penalty (proCon,
If the death penalty came more into effect now a days, there would be a lot less killing, homicides, murders, etc. Go back to the old days; eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If you steal, one finger gets cut off. If the government would stop being terrified of hurting someone’s feelings in this society and bring back those actions, crime percentages would fall
The Tennessee Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) in State v. Booker modernized the imposition of an automatic life sentence on a juvenile homicide offender by finding such a sentence as unconstitutional. In Booker, the juvenile defendant (“Mr. Booker”) was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree felony murder. Mr. Booker, and a juvenile friend, rode in the victim’s car when the victim pulled his car to a curb where Mr. Booker shot him six times in the back, chest, and right shoulder.
The Felony Murder Rule Haley Roemmich Peru State College The Felony Murder Rule INTRODUCTION The felony murder doctrine is the legal principle which provides that any death that occurs during the commission of a felony or attempted felony can be legally treated as a murder. This doctrine holds true regardless of whether there was intent to kill. The felony murder doctrine represents one the few instances in criminal law where the element of intent is waived (Garoupa & Klick, 2006).
This means that homicide can be accidental. If a person got ran over by a car, it would most likely be homicide because they did not intend to do it or plan on doing it. The author also explains that there is not an exact definition for mass murder, spree murder and serial murder. That is because there is very limited research done on these types of murder. He does say that serial murder is characterized by a string of victims murdered over a long period of time.
Whenever the death of a person results from any act, conduct, occurrence, transaction, or circumstances which, if death had not ensued, would have entitled such person to recover damages in respect thereof, the person or party who, or the corporation which, would have been liable if death had not ensued shall be liable in an action for damages, not withstanding the death of the person injured. The wrongful death statute is not in derogation of the common law, and it does not take away any common law right. The wrongful death statute evidences a legislative intent to place the cost of unsafe activities upon the actors who engage in them, and thereby provide a tortious conduct."
Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another, because of a negligent of unlawful act. Felony Murder Rule The felony murder rule is a highly criticized rule because it holds all parties of a crime liable for any death that occurred during the commission of the crime. Even if the death was not directly performed by one of the felons, they will all be charged. For example: During a robbery someone dies of a heart attach.
The theory is that if someone has already been convicted of multiple violent felonies, they are unlikely to change their behavior and may continue to be a danger to society if released from prison. By imposing longer sentences on these individuals, the hope is that they will be kept off the streets and unable to commit further crimes. However, some argue that persistent violent felony offender status is too harsh and does not take into account individual circumstances. For example, someone may have committed multiple violent felonies early in life and then turned their life around, but under this law, they could still face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years to life for any future violent felony convictions. Additionally, critics argue that this enhancement disproportionately affects people of color, who are more likely to be convicted of violent crimes and receive longer sentences than white individuals.
In this case, the cases R v Dean, R v Baker and R v Villa, were cited and used as a precedent stating that “where multiple murders are committed by the one offender, the offender’s culpability for each murder is informed by his culpability for all the murders”. Due to the similar situations in which multiple murders occurred in those cases, it was used as a referral for the sentence given. STATUTE Section 19A (1) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) states that life imprisonment is utmost punishment for murder. This was a main factor that contributed to his sentence – life imprisonment. The other reason for this was Section 61(1) of the Crimes (Sentencing) Procedure Act 1999 (NSW) (“the Sentencing Act”).
In the case of the death penalty, it has the added bonus in guaranteeing that the person would not offend again. Supporters of harsh punishments argue that the would-be criminal would consider the costs versus the benefits of committing a crime. If the costs outweigh the benefits, then it is assumed that he would stop what he is doing, effectively ‘deterred’. Furthermore, the usage of harsh punishments to effectively deter crime is ethically justified as it prevents more people from falling victim to crime. However it is extremely difficult to judge a punishment’s effectiveness based on its deterrence effect, consequently we must consider other variables that would entail a person to commit a crime.