Show:
Capital
Murder
Defenses
Conspiracy
Insanity
Felony Murder
100

Furman V Georgia 

  • Defendant challenged the death penalty as violating the 8th amendment (cruel and unusual punishment)
  • Furman voided 40 death penalty statutes thereby stopping the execution of 629 inmates
  • This DID NOT HOLD that the death penalty would always be void under the 8th amendment
  • In response to Furman, Georgia and 34 other states enacted new death penalty statutes designed to not be arbitrary and capricious
  • Some states sought to limit jury discretion
100

Necessity and Duress

AND 

The cases 

Violating the criminal is a lesser evil than the consequences of not violating the law

If the harm from violating the law is not as great as the harm from not committing the crime, the defendant is justified in committing the crime

DURESS: when a person makes an unlawful threat of imminent death or serious bodily harm, and the only way to avoid that unlawful harm is to violate the criminal law

NECESSITY: when the potential harm is not caused by a person’s unlawful threat, often the harm sough to be avoided is an “act of God”


HOLMES AND DUDLEY V STEPHENS

holmes- draw lots 

D and S - never okay // offer yourself no one else 

100

Elements 

An AGREEMENT between two or more people to commit a crime

  • Intent to commit the crime is the mens rea
  • The agreement is the actus reus
  • Usually shown through inference, looking at the parties' actions to determine if there was an agreement.
  • Prosecution often relies on one co-conspirator testifying against the others
100

Insanity Defense 

A true defense which does not contend that the defendant lacked the mens rea. Defendant contends that even if all elements are proven his mental state excuses him from responsibility

Insanity is a LEGAL term not a medical term

100

Felony Murder 

  • At common law, if a person committed a felony, and someone died as a result of  the felony, the person is guilty of murder
  • Do not need intent, can be entirely accidental or at most negligent
  • No mens rea as to the homicide BUT the prosecution must prove that the defendant has the requisite mens rea for the underlying felony
200

Categorical Limitations 

Only intentional murders can sentence someone to death, cannot be sentenced to death for felony murder since there is no mens rea for the murder in that case

Juveniles: persons who were not 18 at the time of the murder

Intellectually disabled: Usually defined as someone having an IQ under 70

Mentally incompetent at the time of the execution: persons who are so out of touch with reality that they do not understand that they are being executed or the reason why

Persons who can prove they are “actually innocent” even if there was no error at trial.

200

Self Defense 

  • Elements:
  • Defendant must reasonably believe that
  • Defendant is in immediate danger of unlawful bodily harm from an attacker
  • It is necessary to use force to repel the attacker; that is, the only way to avoid the unlawful bodily harm is to use force (Necessity)
  • And the use of force by the defendant must be proportionate; that is, the defendant may not use more force than is necessary to repel the attack (Proportionality)

***Danger does not have to be actual to justify deadly force

200

Nature of Agreement 

  • Agreement is the gist or the essence of the conspiracy
  • The parties must agree about the essential nature of the plan the DO NOT need to agree about all the DETAILS
200

Procedure 

Insanity defense must be raised by a special plea of insanity

If successful it leads to the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity

A defendant who is successful with insanity defense is committed and sent to a state hospital where they can only be released once the judge decides that the defendant is not a danger to themselves or others.

*** Defendant is judged by the mental state at the time of the offense***

200

Time period for underlying felony and death

  • The murder must be committed in the “commission of the crime” single continuous transaction
  • Most states say that the underlying felony must be independent of the felony but some states including GA do not
  • Accomplice can be guilty of felony murder
  • *It is NOT the case in most jurisdictions that the defendant or accomplice needs to commit the murder*
  • Crime must be inherently dangerous or likely to cause death*If the defendant has reached a place of temporary safety then it's not in the commission of the felony* ASK ABOUT THIS
  • As long as the defendant is still trying to escape, they are in commission of the crime
300

Ways that death penalty differs from criminal cases

Jury selections: jurors must be “death qualified” i.e.) if you’re anti-death penalty you will not be selected and same on the alternative if you believe all murderers should be put to death you will not be put on the jury

Has bifurcated proceedings and the rules of evidence do not apply at sentencing phase, any evidence about the defendant’s life will be admissible

Pre-trial proceedings will take much longer, well over a year

The trial itself is usually 3-5 times longer than a regular murder trial as more expert witnesses will be involved

300

Deadly Force

  • A person is justified in using force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury (“deadly force”) ONLY if the person reasonably believes:
  • The attacker is about to use unlawful deadly force
  • And that the deadly force is the ONLY way to prevent the attacker from using the unlawful deadly force
300

Compared to Attempt 

  • Inchoate crime: you do not have to actually complete the offense
  • UNLIKE attempt you CAN be convicted of BOTH the crime and the conspiracy
300

M'Naghten Test

Majority!

The defendant must show that at the time of the offense:

He had a “defect of reason from disease of the mind”

So that he did not know the nature and quality of the act

Or if he did know it, he did know what he was doing was wrong

 

300

Random: Civil Disobedience 

Deliberate violation of the law for a higher social purpose; seeks to stop objectionable government policies

Protestors

Usually does not work, fails to offer proof, alternative means (lobbying etc.)

400

8th amendment principles

A statute must limit and guide the sentencers discretion to sentence a defendant to death

It must limit the death penalty to only the worst murderers

Must guide the jury’s decision through aggravating and mitigating factors and a bifurcated proceeding

The jury’s discretion to sentence to death must be limited-- but the jury’s discretion to sentence to less than death may not be limited

400

Duty to Retreat

Exceptions?

  • Many jurisdictions (MPC) require that one must retreat before using deadly force—if one may do so in complete safety
  • Limitations
  • Never required unless one can do so in “complete safety”
  • Only necessary before using deadly force, not non-deadly force
  • Even in jurisdictions that require retreat, one is never required to retreat in one’s home (“castle doctrine”)
400

Compared to Accomplice Liability 

  • Similar in that you can be liable for substantive crimes you did not commit
  • However, you may be liable for substantive crimes committed by someone else even when you provided no assistance to the perpetrator or even when you were not aware the crime was being committed
  • Can be convicted of both conspiracy and accomplice liability
400

ALI test (Model Penal Code)

•At the time of the crime, as a result of mental disease or defect the defendant lacks the substantial capacity to either: •Appreciate the wrongfulness of the act OR •To conform his conduct to the law

400

Random: Hearsay Exception 

Ordinarily out of court statements are not admissible at trial

However, any out of court declaration made by a co-conspirator during the scope and in furtherance of the crime is admissible against any of the co-conspirators

So a person may testify to what was said out of court so long as it is in furtherance of the conspiracy

500

Who gets the death penalty today?

Most of our worst killers don’t get the death penalty

Geography plays a big role on who gets the death penalty. 10 states make up for 95% of our executions

Counsel: incompetent defense lawyers and wholly inadequate resources available for the defense counsel

Poverty: virtually everyone on death row is poor and doesn’t have the resources for the proper counsel

Race: a disproportionate number of persons sentenced to death are people of color. The race of the victim also plays a role

Innocence: large number of people sentenced to death in the last 3 decades were actually innocent of the murder for which they were convicted

Death penalty cases are overwhelmingly stranger killing stranger and mostly men are on death row

500

Elements of Both Necessity and Duress 

The defendant was faced with a choice of evils and chose the lesser evil

The harm defendant seeks to avoid must be immediate

There must be a casual relation between defendant’s conduct and the harm to be avoided; committing the crime is intended to prevent the greater harm

There was no other legal alternatives to violating the law

500

Pinkerton Doctrine 

  • Liability for substantive crimes of co-conspirators
  • ALL conspirators are liable for ALL substantive crimes committed by any other co-conspirator
500

Competence 

The defendant CANNOT be tried unless they are competent

Test:

Does the defendant understand the proceedings?

AND

The defendant is able to assist the counsel in the defense

Competence is determined by the defendant's mental state at the time of the trial

Judge must have a separate trial to determine competency

If they’re found to be incompetent:

State may confine and treat the defendant

Once the defendant is found to be competent a new hearing is held they are not just off the hook for a trial if they are incompetent

If not finding of competence the defendant may never be put on trial and will be held and treated.

500

Random: Law Enforcement 

Courts generally do not allow a person to use force to resist an arrest- even if the arrest is unlawful

BUT persons may always use force to resist an arrest if the they reasonably believe that the officer is using or is about to use excessive force