Topic: Chargeable offense? (Read 27561 times)

Bob Mueller · « **on:** December 17, 2006, 05:15:03 PM »

So Hollie figures out that Samantha was the last person to see Victor alive. Hollie doesn't know if Samantha killed Victor or not, and doesn't really care.

Hollie plants a bloody boxcutter in Samantha's purse, and calls Crime Stoppers saying, "I think this girl I know may have killed that guy, and she's at 123 Main Street, Apartment A right now, and she's got a bloody boxcutter in her purse."

Samantha is arrested and charged with murder.

Subsequently, the investigators discover that Samantha's fingerprints are not on the boxcutter, but Hollie's are, and that the blood is actually cow's blood. Hollie eventually admits to planting the boxcutter and calling in the false tip. Hollie wasn't trying to deflect the investigation; she just wanted Samantha to get arrested and get her out of the way of Hollie's love interest.

Pick your charge:
Obstructing an investigation?
Filing a false report? (Making false alarms in Ohio)
Tampering with evidence? (Probably not, since the boxcutter wasn't the murder weapon.)
Other suggestions?

JIM DOHERTY · « **Reply #1 on:** December 17, 2006, 06:22:53 PM »

Bob,

Does Ohio have an "Obstruction of Justice" statute separate and distinct from "Obstruction of an Investigation?"

Since she was responsible for Samantha's false arrest, maybe some federal civil rights charge might be thrown into the mix. Of course, she's not a cop and I think those civil rights charges have some notation about misuse of the "color of authority," so probably not, but it might be worth checking into.

Bob Mueller · « **Reply #2 on:** December 17, 2006, 11:31:55 PM »

Thanks. It's not a procedural, and the charge probably isn't important, but I like getting these things right, and it's been too long since I've looked at charges like this.

Think I'll have her charged with tampering, then plead it down to false alarms.

stevent · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2007, 11:14:02 AM »

Given this thread, I'm wondering if this were set in a death penalty state whether Hollie could be charged with attempted murder? The idea is that she would be framing someone with a crime that could lead to their execution.

Ingrid · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2007, 02:04:50 PM »

Not much use for the question, but in China bringing a false murder charge was a capital offense.

Ingrid

JIM DOHERTY · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2007, 02:27:04 PM »

Steven,

Re your comment below:

Quote from: stevent on January 30, 2007, 11:14:02 AM

Given this thread, I'm wondering if this were set in a death penalty state whether Hollie could be charged with attempted murder? The idea is that she would be framing someone with a crime that could lead to their execution.

I don't know about Ohio, but in California, if a person gives false evidence with the intention of getting an innocent person convicted, and that innocent party is later executed and the intentional framing comes out after the execution, the person who framed the innocent who was executed can be charged with Murder in the First with Special Circumstances, and could be executed him or herself.

The person who actually committed the original murder would also be chargeable, IIRC, for the innocent's murder, as well, also with "special circumstances."

Presumably, that means if the frame-up was uncovered prior to the execution, a charge of attempted murder could be made, but I think the innocent party would have to have been actually sentenced to death, though not yet executed, for such a charge to stand up.

Bob Mueller · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:11:14 PM »

Oh, very neat twist, guys! Thanks!

stevent · « **Reply #7 on:** January 31, 2007, 01:09:38 PM »

I also imagine the person who puts together the frame-up might face civil litigation.

It turns out that one hot buton topic in CT right now is women who have recently claimed rape and given descriptions that they knew to be false. In one case, the woman was raped by a person she knew but said it was someone else altogether - 300 lb black man she said, when, in fact, it was supposed to have been a slender white man. Another woman wasn't raped at all. Both women are facing possible charges.