When does it become murder?

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• (July 01, 2007, 09:19:28 PM)

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[Dave Freas]

Hi, All

Maybe this has been asked before.  Maybe I even asked it.

I have a character who is in a permanent vegetative state after his car is forced off the road and crashes.  He lingers in this state for several years before succumbing to pneumonia.

Can the person who ran him off the road be charged with murder in this case?  If so, is there a statute of limitations on how much time can elapse between events?

Thanks up front.

Dave

[JIM DOHERTY]

Dave,

Under Common Law, the death must occur within a year and a day of the blow being struck in order for it to count as a homicide, criminal or otherwise.

The reason for this is because, at the time the custom was adopted, medical science was not advanced enough to be able to tell for certain whether a death resulted from a given injury after so long a time.

Given recent advancements in forensic pathology, however, that make mistakes much less likely, many states, however, have abolished the "year-and-a-day" rule, and have held that, as long as the death can be attributed to the injury, the death counts as a homicide.

If it is a homicide, certain parameters have to be met in order for it to count as a criminal homicide of some kind.

If it is a criminal homicide, certain additional parameters have to be met in order for it to count as murder.

So you should check to see if the state in which you are setting your story still holds to the Common Law "year-and-a-day" custom.
 

[Matthew S.]

Playing devil's advocate here, if the man died of pneumonia, could it be argued that, since this was not a direct result of the crash, ie, his physical injuries (except for the coma of course) healed, but rather, the result of the quality of care he was receiving at the time of his death.  In other words, the pneumonia that kills him had nothing to do with the car crash.  Therefore, in looking at his death, the car crash should not be used, except perhaps as a contributing factor, and not a direct cause.

I think even a mediocre lawyer could make a case like this work.  What say ye?

Matthew S.

[Dave Freas]

Hi, All

Thanks for the info.

Jim, I tried every combination of search parameters I could think of to find out if PA still applies the year-and-a-day rule, but came up empty.

Matthew S., that could work except I want the man responsible for the crash charged with his murder.

Again, thanks guys.

Dave

[Elena]

Dave it sounds to me that coming up with a charge of 'murder' based on death from complications is unlikely. Would it work for something to be found in the dead man's effects which demonstrated a death threat? Then subsequent investigation actually looking for the other man to have forced the car off the road with the intent of killing him result in the desired murder charge?

Where's Earle Stanley Gardner when you need him?

Elena

[Matthew S.]

I suppose you could prove murder if you could prove intent.  In other words, that the car crash was not an accident but an act of homicide ...?

[Dave Freas]

I suppose you could prove murder if you could prove intent.  In other words, that the car crash was not an accident but an act of homicide ...?

That's exactly what it is.  The bad guy forced the victim off the road, hoping to kill him.  After the crash, he held the deflated airbag over the victim's mouth and nose to finish the job.  But he botched the job and the victim ended up in the coma.

And, Elena, the bad guy (and his associate) admit they tried to kill the victim to my MC and another character.

Dave

[JIM DOHERTY]

Dave,

Re your comment below:

Jim, I tried every combination of search parameters I could think of to find out if PA still applies the year-and-a-day rule, but came up empty.

I didn't know which state you were setting your story in.  PA is one of 30-odd states that have abolished or abandoned the "year-and-a-day" rule.  So, if it can be medically proved that the death resulted from the injury, you're good to go.

In fact, Alabama is the only state in which the situation has actually come up that has judicically elected to stay with the law.  Even England, where the Common Law "year-and-a-day" standard was first born, has abandoned it.

Another reason for the general abandonment of the rule, aside from the advances in forensic pathology, are the advances in life-preserving technology.  It's now a lot more likely for someone in a coma, caused by a criminal attack, to survive for longer than a year and a day.  It's no longer a question of whether or not the injury caused the death, but whether the death was delayed by medical advancements administered by practitioners hoping to save the victim's life.

[Matthew S.]

An interesting thought just occurred to me.  What if the attempted homicide happened on the border between two states - say on an abandoned ferry in the middle of the stream and the question becomes as much where it took place as when.  One state has the year-and-a-day law and the other one doesn't.  Don't know if this would work with a car accident.  Unless ...

How about if the 'accident' happens at Four Corners!  Which of the four states - Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona (if memory serves me correctly) - would have jurisdiction?  Let's say the victim had GPS in his car and it was proved that he was right on the border ...

Matthew S.

[Bob Mueller]

An interesting thought just occurred to me.  What if the attempted homicide happened on the border between two states - say on an abandoned ferry in the middle of the stream and the question becomes as much where it took place as when. 

I grew up in a river/border town. As far as the state of Ohio is concerned, the river belongs to West Virginia. I think most border states have similar rules in place.