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Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 21, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Take your time to read this and sign if you agree:
https://www.change.org/petitions/elimina...urder-rule
Quote:Ryan Holle was 20 when charged under the felony murder rule. In 2003, Holle lent his car to his roommates. He was hungover from a prior evening of drinking and partying when the roommates informed him they were going to rob a man of his marijuana. During the robbery the men murdered an 18 year old girl. Though Holle was about a mile and a half from the scene of the crime and had no prior knowledge of a murder, he was convicted under the felony murder rule and sentenced to life without parole.
Other examples are on the site.
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 21, 2012 at 8:54 pm
But six cops can be right there blazing away and the mayor claps them on the back for doing their civic duty.
See why this country is fucked up?
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 21, 2012 at 10:07 pm
(This post was last modified: August 21, 2012 at 10:13 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
Well, the idea behind this is that he was
a: consulted with regards to the commision of a crime.
b: knowingly aided in the commission of a crime.
c: the commission of the crime involved felony murder as a circumstance.
He does fit the bill for an accomplice perfectly. Keep in mind the sentence could have been harsher, lethal injection was an option (Florida, last I checked, along with Mississippi and a few other southern states allow for the execution of accomplices to murder even if they do not themselves strike a blow...unless that's changed since I looked, which was admittedly awhile back....and I hope it has). Had the crime not involved drugs, murder, and a female, he might have gotten a better deal through plea bargaining, for example. Looks like they threw the book at the kid, so-to-speak.
Of the three examples provided his is probably the least compelling with regards to whether or not I would sign the petition. Nevertheless, almost on general principle I;d sign the damned thing as one thing that is immediately apparent if you grow up in the sunshine state......something just aint right about the place, it's laws, or it's citizens...
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!
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 12:35 am
Isn't the felony murder law an American thing? It's my business what Americans do in their own country exactly how? (assuming I care,which I don't)
Callous,perhaps, but also realistic. I have no time for futile, self righteous expressions of outrage to foreign countries. THAT was the idea behind the the paper tiger which is the United Nations .
Although the US considers it a divine right to interfere in the affairs of other nations,it responds badly when the shoe is on the other foot
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 5:06 am
(This post was last modified: August 22, 2012 at 5:09 am by Tiberius.)
(August 21, 2012 at 10:07 pm)Rhythm Wrote: a: consulted with regards to the commision of a crime.
b: knowingly aided in the commission of a crime.
c: the commission of the crime involved felony murder as a circumstance.
He does fit the bill for an accomplice perfectly. Accomplice to a burglary, not to a murder.
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.
It's ridiculous that the simple act of lending a car can end with you in jail for life. 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?
(August 22, 2012 at 12:35 am)padraic Wrote: Isn't the felony murder law an American thing? It's my business what Americans do in their own country exactly how? (assuming I care,which I don't) I care about rights violations in other parts of the world. Petitions can be signed by anyone, regardless of nationality. If I lent my car to my friend and he drove to someone's house and killed a girl, I am 100% innocent of any crime.
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 5:16 am
Sick laws for a sick state.
Florida has some fucking awful laws.
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 5:27 am
The UK law on prosecuting accomplices seems to be set up to avoid exactly these kind of scenarios:
Quote:There may be occasions when it may be appropriate not to bring proceedings against an accomplice even where there is sufficient evidence. For example, the offence might be serious but the involvement of the accomplice may be minor.
Source: https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/accomplices/
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 5:29 am
Another from Florida, I remember seeing this on TYT.
Quote:A Florida woman has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for firing a gun into the ceiling of her home in front of her husband and their two young children.
Quote:Florida’s harsh 10-20-Life statutes give harsh punishments for all gun crimes. For pulling a gun out during a crime, the sentence is ten years.
For firing the gun, a mandatory 20-year sentence is issued.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...fails.html
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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!
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RE: Petition: Eliminate Florida's felony murder rule.
August 22, 2012 at 10:27 am
Stealing a guys weed? These people are monsters!
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