Criminal Law: Murder

Common Law: Homicide: General Principles

• Homicide: the killing of a human being by another human being

• Criminal homicide: Homicide committed without justification (ex: self-defense) or excuse (ex: insanity) (justification/excuse = defenses)

Common Law: Human Being: General Principles

• An unborn baby is not considered to be a human being until the baby is born alive (controversial, states often reject this)

• A person is legally dead when the circulation of blood stops and functions of respiration and heart pulsation permanently cease (some states may add brain dead)

^ Human being definitions for purpose of homicide

Common Law: Murder: General Principles

• Murder: A killing of a human being by another human being with malice aforethought

Common Law: Murder - MALICE: General Principles

• Malice: unjustifiably, inexcusably (going to the above defenses), and in the absence of any mitigating circumstances (manslaughter), killing a person with any one of four mental states

• ^ Defendant’s burden of proof (to show excuse)

  • Intent to kill a human being

  • Intent to inflict grievous bodily injury on another

  • Extremely reckless disregard for the value of human life (“depraved heart”)

  • Intent to commit a felony during the commission or attempted commission of which a death occurs, even accidentally (the “felony murder rule”)

Common Law: Murder - AFORETHOUGHT: General Principles

The malicious mental state must exist at the time of the homicide, rather than afterward

Common Law: Murder - INTENT TO KILL: General Principles

• Defendant purposely or knowingly took another’s life (review how Common Law defines those terms)

• Intent to inflict grievous bodily injury on another human being is sufficient

Common Law: Murder - INTENT TO KILL - STATE SHOWS INTENT: General Principles

• Inferred from circumstances

• Deadly weapon rule: Jury can infer intent to kill if defendant intentionally uses a deadly weapon directed at a vital part of the human anatomy

MPC: Criminal Homicide - General Principles

• Criminal homicide: Taking the life of another human being purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently

MPC: Criminal Homicide - THREE CATEGORIES - General Principles

• Criminal homicide divided into three categories

  • Murder

  • Manslaughter

  • Negligent homicide

MPC: Human Being - General Principles

• Human being: a person being born alive

• Jurisdictions can determine when one ceases to be alive

MPC: Murder - Killing is Commited:

1. Purposely

2. Knowingly

3. Recklessly under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life

True or False: Some people combine the PA Model with Common Law

True. It came out of concern because of the death penalty.

True or False: Degrees are for PA Model

True. If degrees are brought up in a Common Law hypo, then also refer to PA Model information

PA Model: First Degree Murder

• First degree murder: willful, deliberate, and premeditated

  • Willful: Intentional

  • Premeditated: To think about beforehand (momentary)

  • Deliberate: To measure and evaluate the major facets of a choice or problem - “cool, calm, thinking”

• Jurisdictions may merge premeditated and deliberate

Common Law: Depraved Heart Murder

Defendant’s conduct manifests an extreme indifference to the value of human life.

Ex: mischievous shooting/putting gun to head

True or False: Depraved Heart Murder - The accused doesn’t intend to kill.

True. The accused doesn’t intend to kill, but the malice & conduct is so extraordinarily dangerous, and consequences aren’t cared about and should amount to murder because of indifference to human life due to the known risks in actor’s behavior.

MPC: Extreme Recklessness

• Criminal homicide constitutes murder when it is committed recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life

• Intent to commit grievous bodily injury

PA Model - Depraved Heart Murder/Extreme Recklessness

Although 2nd degree murder statutes vary greatly, many involve an extreme indifference to the value of human life

Common Law: Murder During a Felony

A person is guilty of murder if he kills another person, even accidentally, during the commission or attempted commission of a felony

Common Law: The State must establish ______ to prove felony murder

• Every element of the underlying felony (ex: proof burglary occurred)

  • Even fleeing from felony can count as felony

• Every element of murder (except mens rea)

Common Law: Some jurisdictions limit the scope of felony murder: Inherently Dangerous Felony limitation -

• Typically, this is limited to situations in which the facts of the case make the commission of the felony inherently dangerous

• Sometimes, this is only limited to situations involving felonies that, regardless of the individual facts of the case, are inherently dangerous

Common Law: Independent felony limitation

• The felony that is the predicate for the felony murder rule must be independent of the homicide

• A felony that is not independent merges with the homicide

  • Trying to keep felonies separate; action beyond felony

Common Law: Res Gestae limitation

There must be a causal connection between the felony and the death (ex: robbing clerk & customer unaware of robbery dies via heart attack)

Common Law: Killing by a Non-Felon

!Anyone but defendant resisting the killing!

• Agency approach: A felon is only responsible for homicides committed by a person acting as the felon’s agent (ex: robbery, good guy kills one of the robbers, other robber isn’t liable_

• Proximate causation approach: A felon could be responsible for a homicide committed by a non-felon if the felon proximately caused the homicide (liable if death = foreseeable)

  • Circumstantial!!

Common Law: Felony murder can occur:

after the underlying offense was complete but before the defendant reached a place of temporary safety (ex: fleeing from the crime)

MPC: Murder during a felony

• No felony murder provision

• Reckless indifference to human life can (jury not required - likely would be) be inferred by the jury if the person causes the death during the commission of a particular felony:

  • Robbery

  • Arson

  • Burglary

  • Kidnapping

  • Felonious escape (jurisdictionally circumstantial)

  • Rape

  • Deviant sexual intercourse by force or threat of force

• Relate to Intent & Accomplice

True or False: Not every felony = felony murder.

True. It varies per jurisdiction. Robbery will likely be on the list and is inherently dangerous