Crimes Against the Person Homicide Flashcards
Year-and-a-Day Ruel
- Majority/Georgia–> death may occur any time
- Common Law–> death must occur w/in a year-and-a-day of the homicidal act
Common Law Murder (same as in GA)
- Causing the death of another person with malice aforethought
- Satisfied by any of the four mental states
- intent to kill
- intent to inflict serious bodily harm
- Extreme recklessness, meaning reckless indifference to human life
- Intentional commission of an inherently dangeous felony
- Intent to Kill Murder
- Deadly weapon–intentional use of a a deadly weapon creates an inference of an intent to kill
- Transferred Intent
Transferred Intent
- IF a defendant intends to harm one victim, but accidentally harms a differnet victim instead, the defendant’s intent will transfer from the intended victim to the actual victim
- applies to murder but can also apply to crimes like battery and arson
- EXCEPTION: does not apply to attempts–only to crimes with completed harms
Felony Murder (Common Law)
- Any killing caused during the commission of or attempt to commit a felony
- Common limitations on felony murder
- D must be guilty of the undelying felony
- felony must be inherently dangrous (GA says any dangerous felony)
- Merger: must be independent of the killing (not recognized in GA)
- Res Gestae: Must take place during the felony or during the flight from the felony. Once the felon reachs a place of safety, felony ends.
- Death must be foreseaable
- Cannot be a co-felon
- Vicarious Liability
Merger Rule
Felony msut be independent of the killing (meaning that aggravated assault cannot be the felony)
not recognized in GA
Res Gestae
Kiling must take place during the felony or during the flight from the felony. Once the felon reaches safety, felony ends.
Vicarious Liability
Proximate Cause
Agency Theory
Proximate Cause Theory
Most states, including Georgia, if one of the co-felons proximately causes the victim’s death, all of the other co-felons will be guilty of felony murder, even if the actual killing is committed by a 3P
Agency Theory
IN some states, felony murder doctrine applies only if hte killing is committed by one of the co-felons
Murder (statuotry variations)
Most states (not Georgia) have two degrees of murder by statute:
- First degree murder–any killing committed with premidatation and deliberation
- Second Degree Murder–All other intentional murders
Murder in Georgia
Follows the common law but adds that all murder is punishable by death or life-in-prison
Feticide
IN GA, commit crime of feticide when one causes the death of a fetus at any stage of development
- willfully through injury to the mother that would constitute murder if it were to result in the mother’s death OR
- during the commission of a felony
Life in prison
Voluntary Manslaughter (definition)
A killing committed intentionally in the head of passion upon adequate provocation
Voluntary Manslaughter (Requirements)
Four Requirements
- 1) Adequacy: provocations must be objectively adequate–> it would arouse a sudden and intense passion in the mind of a reasonable person
- E.g. serious assualt or battery; presently witness adultery
- 2) Actual: defendant was actually provoked
- 3) Timing: defendant did not have time to cool off–objective
- 4) Continuance: Defendant did not actually cool off between provocation and killing–subjective
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Involuntary Manslaughter (type 1-crime)
A killing commited during the commission of a crime to which the felony murder doctrine does not apply
Georgia–unlawful act mansalughter
