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Ricky Swaffford Murder Case

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An east Tennessee factory employee murdered 2 of his coworkers Thursday afternoon after a heated argument took place. The three Thomas &Betts Corp employees were involved in an angry altercation when 45 year old Ricky Swafford left the factory, only to return brandishing a semi-automatic pistol. He then shot James Zotter, 44 and Sandra Cooley, 68 before turning the gun on himself. The shooting was reported at approximately 4:15, prompting police to surround the building as people “streamed” through all exits. Eye witness reports described an attempted shooting in front of the office building and actual shooting inside the factory. Thomas & Betts Corp, an electrical design and manufacturing company, does not have its own security on site.
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The legality of this case is obvious. Ricky Swafford showed pre meditation by leaving the warehouse to go home and get his gun. In the most apparent sense murder is illegal. Actus Reus states that laws are aimed at human acts. This means that Swafford cannot be charged because of a ‘status’, but because he tangibly and sensibly carried out a human act (shooting and murdering 3 people), he can be charged under criminal code. The cause between a human act and the harm suffered has to be the direct intention of the defendant. The circumstance here shows that Swaffords action were intent on the murder of his 2 coworkers. This falls under harm as well. Harm must be caused to a legally protected value, in this case the lives of Zotter, and Cooley. In order for an act to become a crime, there must be intent present at the time of the act being carried out. The intent here is showed by the fact that the would be defendant was in a heated argument, left the argument, and returned back to the scene of the argument with a deadly weapon determined to kill his coworkers. The amount of time that passed gave Swafford a chance to consider his actions and deem them irrational and dangerous. This guilty state of mind defines his motives, making him guilty in the eyes of the

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