Court upholds drunken driver's murder conviction

[SlowwHand]

whenever a victim is killed during the commission of another felony, whether or not the defendant intended the killing, or even committed the fatal act.

Says it all.

[GePap]

The issue here if felony murder.

Lets take an example:

An unarmed burgler goes into a home. You can infer that there is 0 intent to kill on the part of the burgler. The homeowner hears the burgler, comes down with a gun with the intent to kill the guy. Homeowner confronts the burgler, misses, and in struggle insues.IN self-defense the burgler kills the homeowner.

The burgler will probably be charged with murder, erven thought the intent to kill was solely in the homeowner.

Why?

because the burgler was committing a felony. His serious criminal act set in motion the events that lead to the death of the homeowner- if the burgler had not tried to commit a crime, the homeowner would be alive.

[SlowwHand]

Let's take as an example the case at hand. He killed someone while committing a felony.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
No. This was a repeat offense, making it felony. A killing during the commission of a felony.
The guy is a dumbass who refused to modify his behavior. So now, it's being modified for him.

As I pointed out before, he probably has a psychological or medical problem. It would be nice if Texas had a doctor and a psychologist to examine him...

[GePap]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


As I pointed out before, he probably has a psychological or medical problem. It would be nice if Texas had a doctor and a psychologist to examine him...

If he had such a problem, he coulds have made his case after drunk driving conviction #2.

This guy is just a reckless *****.

[Dinner]

Isn't the whole point of having a vehicular manslaughter charge to cover cases like this?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Oerdin
Isn't the whole point of having a vehicular manslaughter charge to cover cases like this?

No. It's to cover if this was the first or second time he was found DWI.

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui


Manslaughter is NOT the same as murder charges. They are a lesser offense.

Wouldn't it be nice if people actually read your post before they spouted out a reply.

I believe my post pointed out that there were different crimes that involved the illegal death of another person. In general they hav been put into 3 different categories of MURDER.

1 planned and intentional (1st degree murder)

2 unplanned but intentional (2nd degree murder/Voluntary manslaughter)

3 unplanned and unintentional but you shoulda have known better (3rd degree murder/Involuntary Manslaughter)

You are hung up on the word "murder" as opposed to what happened.

What happened was an unintentional, unplanned, illegal killing of another person due to negligence.

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.

It's popular nowadays to find the popular cause and "SEND A MESSAGE" by over charging people that commit a crime that society is particularily upset about at the current time.

We need to ensure that the mentallity of the lynch mob is not the mentallity of the court.

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.

[Deity Dude]

Originally posted by GePap
The issue here if felony murder.

Lets take an example:

An unarmed burgler goes into a home. You can infer that there is 0 intent to kill on the part of the burgler. The homeowner hears the burgler, comes down with a gun with the intent to kill the guy. Homeowner confronts the burgler, misses, and in struggle insues.IN self-defense the burgler kills the homeowner.

The burgler will probably be charged with murder, erven thought the intent to kill was solely in the homeowner.

Why?

because the burgler was committing a felony. His serious criminal act set in motion the events that lead to the death of the homeowner- if the burgler had not tried to commit a crime, the homeowner would be alive.

Yes he will be charged with Murder. Just what degree.

At first glance Murder III/Involuntary Manslaughter.

EXCEPT almost every state has added a clause to the 1st degree Murder charge that says that if it occurs during a planned, violent felony or a crime where one would suspect that it would lead to a violent felony and an illegal death occurs due to that person's behavior that it CAN be considered first or second degree murder.

To me it still doesn't apply to the Texas Drunk Driver Case. Remember I am not discussing what his penalty should be, I am discussing what his charge should be.

If what you are saying is, that you want to lock this guy up for life, then what you are really saying is:

A) you want to make the penalty for Involuntary Manslaughter (in some cases) the same as 1st degree murder

OR

B) you want the ability to "over charge" citizens because you or others feel that the punishment for thier crime should be greater than what is prescribed by law.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Deity Dude
Wouldn't it be nice if people actually read your post before they spouted out a reply.

I believe my post pointed out that there were different crimes that involved the illegal death of another person. In general they hav been put into 3 different categories of MURDER.

1 planned and intentional (1st degree murder)

2 unplanned but intentional (2nd degree murder/Voluntary manslaughter)

3 unplanned and unintentional but you shoulda have known better (3rd degree murder/Involuntary Manslaughter)

You are hung up on the word "murder" as opposed to what happened.

What happened was an unintentional, unplanned, illegal killing of another person due to negligence.

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.

It's popular nowadays to find the popular cause and "SEND A MESSAGE" by over charging people that commit a crime that society is particularily upset about at the current time.

We need to ensure that the mentallity of the lynch mob is not the mentallity of the court.

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER.

Even accepting your strange definitions (a lot of states do not have 3 degrees for one... plenty of states have only 2 degrees of murder), didn't you write "3rd Degree Murder/Involuntary Manslaughter"? So why isn't it 3rd Degree Murder instead of Involuntary Manslaughter? After all, you have equated them.

And once again, Manslaughter doesn't not go under any definition of Murder. They are different. Both are Homicides, but both are not Murder (there is, after all, a reason it is called Manslaughter and not Murder).

And this is far worse than simple Involuntary Manslaughter or Vehicular Homicide. This is a man who has constantly gotten behind the wheel of his car drunk, knowing that it could cause injury. His gross recklessness led to the death. It is a depraved heart murder. No "sending a message" judgment, but punishment for his recklessness, just as people who fire guns randomly into the air in a residential area will be charged for murder if someone gets killed by one of those bullets.

To call this Involuntary Manslaughter, seeing how he's done it again and again and again is ridiculous. This is a depraved heart murder. Furthermore he killed someone while engaging in a felony - felony murder (and btw, a lot of jurisdictions do NOT have the requirement it be a violent felony, just that during the felony the person does something dangerous to human life... like driving down the wrong way of a road).