Depraved-heart murder

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In

third-degree murder
.

If no death results, such an act would generally constitute

reckless endangerment (sometimes known as "culpable negligence") and possibly other crimes, such as assault
.

Common law background

It ["depraved heart" murder] is the form [of murder] that establishes that the wilful doing of a dangerous and reckless act with wanton indifference to the consequences and perils involved is just as blameworthy, and just as worthy of punishment, when the harmful result ensues as is the express intent to kill itself. This highly blameworthy state of mind is not one of mere negligence... It is not merely one even of gross criminal negligence... It involves rather the deliberate perpetration of a knowingly dangerous act with reckless and wanton unconcern and indifference as to whether anyone is harmed or not. The common law treats such a state of mind as just as blameworthy, just as anti-social and, therefore, just as truly murderous as the specific intents to kill and to harm.[7]

The common law punishes unintentional homicide as murder if the defendant commits an act of gross recklessness. A classic example of depraved-heart murder under the common law is in the case Commonwealth v. Malone, a Pennsylvania case in which the court affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of a teenager for a death arising from a game of modified Russian roulette in which each player pointed and fired the gun at the other, eventually resulting in the death of one of them.[1]

Under the Model Penal Code

Depraved-heart murder is recognized in the Model Penal Code § 210.2(1)(b).[8] The Model Penal Code considers unintentional killing to constitute murder when the conduct of the defendant manifests "extreme indifference to the value of human life".

International equivalents

Canada

The Canadian

murder as first- and second-degree for sentencing purposes. However, the Supreme Court of Canada held that murder requires, at minimum, subjective knowledge that death is a likely consequence of the defendant's actions.[9]

Section 229(a)(ii) of the Canadian Criminal Code is most closely analogous to depraved-heart murder, applying where the defendant intended to cause bodily harm to the deceased that he subjectively knew was likely to cause death, and was reckless as to the risk of death.

England and Wales

Murder is not classified into degrees in England and Wales, unlike in Canada, but sentences are more severe (always life, but with a longer period when the offender is ineligible for parole) in cases where there are more aggravating than mitigating factors. Murder requires intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm; recklessness as to harm will not suffice. In a case where death results from recklessness, the defendant will be guilty of manslaughter.

Germany

A similar concept is Eventualvorsatz  [de], also called dolus eventualis or bedingter Vorsatz (literally: "conditional intent"). Under this concept, a court can treat the result of a criminal act as intentional if the defendant did not explicitly intend this result, but realized it was not unlikely and knowingly accepted this risk.

While Eventualvorsatz can apply to any crime, it is usually only applied in cases involving bodily harm or murder. Typical cases where courts recognized Eventualvorsatz (in this case for murder) include setting fire to an inhabited house[10] and reckless speeding in an urban area.[11]

Well-known cases

1946 Russian roulette case

In the 1946 case,

prosecution
successfully argued using the depraved-heart doctrine that his recklessness and carelessness amounted to a level of negligence sufficient to serve as evidence of criminally culpable intent.

2015 death of Freddie Gray

Main article: Killing of Freddie Gray

Caesar Goodson, Jr., a

Freddie Gray while in police custody. Gray died several days after he was arrested and driven in a police van to jail. The van was shown on video during the trial to have been driven normally,[12] but was alleged to have been driven aggressively with no regard for the safety of the prisoner, who was not adequately secured for safety. Further, the prisoner was shackled, preventing him from protecting himself. The prosecution alleged that the injuries were inflicted during the ride and that pleas for medical attention were ignored. Officer Goodson was charged with second-degree depraved-heart murder before the internal investigation was completed.[13][14][15][16] He was found not guilty on June 23, 2016.[17] Of the six officers charged, three were acquitted, and charges were dropped against the remaining three.[18]

Murder of George Floyd

Main article: Murder of George Floyd

The

third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter,[19][20]
while the other officers pled guilty for various charges related to the murder.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Commonwealth v. Malone, 354 Pa. 180, 47 A.2d 445 (1946).
  2. ^ Jenée Desmond-Harris (May 1, 2015). "An officer has been charged with depraved heart murder in Freddie Gray's death. What is that?". vox.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  3. ^ Bonnie, R.J. et al. Criminal Law, Second Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NYL 2004, p. 797
  4. ^ "Six Police Officers Charged In Freddie Gray's Death; Praise, Scrutiny For State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby". The Lead with Jake Tapper. CNN. May 1, 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  5. ^ "Brown v. Commonwealth of Kentucky". Justia Law. September 3, 1998. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  6. ^ "§ 163.118¹ Manslaughter in the first degree". www.oregonlaws.org. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  7. ^ Robinson v. State, 307 Md. 738, 517 A.2d 94 (1986), quoting DeBettencourt v. State, 48 Md. App. 522, 530, 428 A.2d 479, 484 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1981)
  8. ^ American Law Institute Model Penal Code (Official Draft, 1962)
  9. ^ R v Martineau, [1990] 2 SCR 633.
  10. ^ "Versuchter Mord durch Brandstiftung: Haft für Ex-Feuerwehrmann - PZ-Nightlife". Nightlife (in German). January 20, 2015. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  11. ^ Ege, Gian (2012). "Will ein Raser töten? Eventualvorsätzliche Tötung im Straßenverkehr – eine juristische Bestandsaufnahme" [Does a speeder want to kill? Conditionally intentional killing in traffic – a legal survey] (in German). Europa Institut.
  12. ^ "Van Driven Normally". washingtonpost.com. June 14, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  13. ^ "Baltimore grand jury indicts police in death of Freddie Gray". reuters.com. 2015-05-21. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
  14. ^ "What is 'depraved-heart' murder?" (USA Today)
  15. ^ "What Is ‘Depraved Heart Murder’?" (Time Magazine)
  16. ^ "What is depraved-heart murder in Maryland?" (The Washington Post)
  17. ^ "Freddie Gray: Baltimore officer cleared of murder"(BBC News)
  18. ^ "Freddie Gray death: Grand jury indicts police officers"(CNN)
  19. ^ Forliti, Amy. "What were charges against Chauvin in Floyd death?". ABC News. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  20. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved April 20, 2021.
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