He did it.
No he did it.
No he did it, i didn’t do it.
If we cannot prove it was one of em and NOT the other that fired the shots, we cannot eliminate reasonable doubt.
If they are both in on it, if they both claim the other fired the shots, Prosecuters could have problems.
I think they will break under the pressure and spill the beans, but if not…
And the General Question here would be … ?
Depending on the laws in the state(s) where this gets tried, they could just try the pair of them for the offense and not worry about which individual pulled the trigger. Also, IIRC, a given court case stands on its own, so the prosecutor could convict both of them for the crime (or argue in that manner until one pleads out).
Is this plausible?
I saw a case (no cite) where a man was convicted of murder as a result of being the GETAWAY DRIVER in a fouled-up convenience store robbery where the store employee got shot.
Jonathan, that one is probably not the same sort of crime. A number of states have what are called ‘felony murder laws’, where committing a felony in which someone is killed qualifies as murder (whether the person killed was even killed by you or not). So, if you break into a store, storekeeper pulls out a shotgun and kills your partner, under those sorts of laws you’re guilty of murder. He could also have been prosecuted for being part of a conspiracy to commit murder, since the whole thing probably was planned out.
I remember an old Law & Order episode with this theme. One of two boys committed a murder, and the prosecutor couldn’t determine who did it … so (s)he requested separate trials, in order to seek convictions for both of them. I don’t remember how it all panned out (or if it did, even, before the end of the episode), but it was definitely an interesting episode … and the ethics of the situation would be a great thing to debate.
I can’t be absolutely sure here, so don’t cite me [DISCLAIMER: answer may vary by jurisdiction, consult competent counsel in your jurisdiction], but almost all states have accomplice liability laws (as well as conspiracy laws that usu. carry the same penalty as the crime conspired toward [though they aren’t the same crime for charging purposes]) that allow every person who aids or abets a criminal in their criminal enterprise before the commission of that act (even without knowledge of the crime, so long as they knew SOME felony was to be committed) to be charged with that crime. That’s how getaway drivers get pinched for murder, even when they don’t necessarily know anyonoe was to be killed. In fact, accomplice liability laws are there to prevent the exact scenario that the OP suggests.
I know that this is true in California (my jurisdiction), not only because IAAL, but because a friend’s son is in State Prison for being the driver from a botched gas station robbery that wound up getting the clerk killed. Whether it’s true in Maryland or DC I can’t say for sure, though it’s a fair bet.
ready29003 - Happens every day. In fact, it isn’t just for plea bargaining - they can both be convicted, either separately or together. Prosecutors try to avoid trying co-defendants separately because they don’t want the jury to get confused by the argument that “they’re trying someone else down the hall right now FOR THE SAME CRIME!”
IANAL, but I don’t see how anyone who rode around with someone on a murder spree would not also be convicted of the crime, regardless of the jurisdiction.
When I helped a friend study for the CA Bar, I learned about the BARRC Rule as he called it about felony murder.
If you killed someone during a Burglary, Arson, Rape, Robbery, or Conspiracy, it was felony murder in CA.
Yes, if you and your buddy hold up a liquor store, and the proprietor shoots you both and only you survive, they can charge and convict you for the first degree murder of your buddy. Wouldn’t have happened if you guys hadn’t brought your pistols onto the premise and started pointing them at people.
If they both say the 17-year-old did all the shooting & he’s a juvenile, they can charge the older guy with multiple counts of conspiracy, accessory before the fact, etc, ie many lifetimes’ worth of charges.
In Virginia, in the case of a felony, every accessory before the fact may be indicted, tried, convicted and punished in all respects as if a principal actor in the crime. There are some exceptions in the case of capital murder, but I don’t believe any of them apply in the instant case.
Conspirators for capital murder crimes are guilty of a Class 3 felony (5-20 years).
The willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person within a three-year period is a capital crime, punishable by death or a sentence of natural life, with no parole.