RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 10:24 am
(This post was last modified: August 22, 2012 at 10:35 am by The Grand Nudger.)
(August 22, 2012 at 5:06 am)Tiberius Wrote: Accomplice to a burglary, not to a murder.
The burglary involved a murder, the way that our law is setup an accomplice to any given crime is also culpable for any other crime committed in the course of it's commission Tibs.
Quote:In any case, if you read his wiki you'll find that he has consistently denied knowing that they were going to rob someone; he was hungover and thought it was a joke.
People deny their guilt when murder charges are brought. Don't get me wrong, I'm not agreeing with this ruling. I'm simply pointing out that there are a great many cases where an accomplice denies knowledge of a crime, and he is an accomplice to murder under Florida law...as well as burglary.
Quote:It's ridiculous that the simple act of lending a car can end with you in jail for life.Correction, he lent a car for the commission of a crime which ultimately led to homicide.
Quote:The argument used by the prosecutor ("No car, no crime.") is just a bad application of logic. Who's to say they wouldn't have gotten a car from somewhere else?
Okay, should we haul in everyone they -might- have borrowed a car from? No, of course not, that's not how this works. No one in this case was charged with what -might- have happened. His car, which he freely lent, presumably with the knowledge that they were going to commit a crime (I understand that he disputes this...but this argument would have had to have been made -perhaps a "friend" threw him under the bus) was used in the commission of a crime, which happened to involve felony murder. That's pretty clear cut.
Look, I do think that these sorts of rulings blow, but they are solid and there are many cases in which you would want to see the accomplice laws applied. Consistent application of law amigo. "I was drunk, I was hungover, I thought they were kidding" is not an effective defense against robbery or murder. Even without felony murder doctrine this kid would still have faced charges as an accomplice to murder (though it's likely that he would have been sentenced, if convicted, much more leniently approaching the scale of manslaughter).
What the felony murder doctrine allows is that accomplices be sentenced (and charged) to the maximum, whereas other laws allow accomplices to be charged with murder/manslaughter even when they do not actively strike a blow or even involve themselves directly in the crime.
Like I said, I think the "I was hungover" defense in a case that involved drugs, robbery, and the murder of a female didn't go over well with the jurors that florida is likely to field. You know, seniors...waiting to die....looking to take some annoying young kid with them on the way out, red state...etc etc etc.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
