Once again, IANAL–but the primary differentiation I saw when I nosed around was between *deliberation *and not. For example, in the case I cited, the perp was deemed to have premeditated when he loaded his rifle prior to aiming and shooting.
I’d expect to see 2nd-degree murder prosecutions hinge on whether or not there was an intent to kill–a guy firing in the general direction of a trespasser in the heat of the moment might argue there was no intent to kill, merely to wound or warn, so it was therefore 2nd-degree murder.
That isn’t what the statute says, it says that for 2nd Degree, you must have intent, but not premeditation. The court instruction about premeditation seems to suggest that forming intent IS premeditation.
Let’s play a little game of what-if. If one of the burglars had managed to survive The Crazy Old Man’s gunfire, could that survivor be charged with felony murder under Minnesota law?
Because someone was killed during the commission of a felony. You don’t have to be the one who actually pulled the trigger to be charged with felony murder. Which five seconds of googling would have told you. You could, from there, have given an answer that actually mattered.
The law of mens rea (intent), like most things we inherited from the common law of England, is immensely complicated and often immensely silly.
It appears that Minnesota no longer follows the rule Zeriel cited, and has instead adopted the (IMHO, more sensible) rule that some appreciable time for deliberation is required for premeditation:
That would be misleading. Intent and premeditation are distinct elements (though you can’t have premeditation without intent). A homicide committed without intent isn’t a murder at all. It would be manslaughter.
[QUOTE=Scumpup]
Let’s play a little game of what-if. If one of the burglars had managed to survive The Crazy Old Man’s gunfire, could that survivor be charged with felony murder under Minnesota law?
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Yes. The felony-murder rule doesn’t care about who causes the fatal wound, just that it occurs without a break in the chain of causation. If the kids had escaped, reached a place of safety, and were then hunted down by the old man, for example, the rule would not apply.
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Why the fuck would the survivor be charged with felony murder?
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Because somebody was killed as the result of a felony perpetrated by the survivor. If you rob a store, and your accomplice is killed by the police in an ensuing shootout, you’re up for felony murder.
Would the shooter and the escapee both be charged with felony murder? Is there a cite for this ever happening before?
Edited to add: Has this ever happened in a case where there was no return fire and the initial act was clearly murder, and not self defense?
Unbunch your panties and be patient. Information about the prior robberies is coming out, and that just was the first official news report. There will be more.
Are you asking if the old man broke the chain of causation when he shot the second kid in cold blood? Possibly. I suspect not, though, as the shooting was still part of an unbroken line of events because the kids were still in the house (and the burglary was therefore not complete).
So if the second burglar had immediately abandoned the cousin there would only be one felony murder charge, but sticking around to see if the cousin was hurt would trigger the 2nd felony murder charge?
Eh? For a second felony murder charge, there would have to be a second murder. If the second kid gets killed, there will be no felony murder charges at all, because the kids are both dead.
The old man can’t be charged with felony murder because he hasn’t committed an underlying felony, just the murder itself.
I’d like to see a cite of a similar circumstance-nonviolent burglary, burglar murdered, and accomplice survives to get charged with a greater charge than the actual murderer.
That isn’t what anybody said could have hypothetically happened here. Hypothetically, the surviving burglar could be charged with felony murder due to the death of his accomplice. The Crazy Old Man will be facing homicide charges for the death of one burglar (Murder 1 a possibility) and possibly other charges for shooting the second burglar.