Originally posted by: Blackjack200
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Originally posted by: JohnOfSheffield
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
Originally posted by: Skoorb
charged with murder during the commission of a crime. Even though he didn't pull the trigger, under Florida law, a person can be charged with murder if someone dies while the accused is committing a felony.
Man, now that is a stupid $**king law. I attack you with my friend, you kill my friend and _I_ get charged with murder? Retarded.
I think it's brilliant. The responsibility lies in who starts a confrontation, not in who ends it.
Kindergarten policy upheld as a law?
Logic and justice turned into law. Here's how I see it:
People (especially on a macro level like society)
need someone to be responsible for everything that happens...someone to be at fault. This has led to some very bad tendancies: criminals suing the victims, society suing the victims, etc. The beauty of the felony murder law isn't that it exacts a punishment from a criminal, it's that it makes him/her responsible for everything that happens, which is as it should be. It's only a start, and it's too specific yet. The law should simply read that when any person(s) commit any crime they themselves accept full responsibility for EVERYTHING that happens as a result of their choice to act against societal and individual sanctity. The murder charges are just one aspect of that, but they're a good start.
This would protect victims, punish criminals, and give society the scapegoat that they seem to need in order to function.
The law is wrong because it holds people responsible for the actions of others. Let's look at two crime comparisons:
1 - Solo crime
Two separate men rob two separate convenience stores armed with guns (completely separate incidents). As both men are leaving the store, they fire a shot at the shopkeeper. One man finds his mark and kills the shopkeeper. The other misses and and the shopkeeper is unharmed. One man will be charged with murder, and the other will be charged with attempted murder. Under English Common Law, attempted murder is treated the same as murder.
Both criminals had the same intent, the two crimes had different outcomes, but the punishment is the same.
2 - Group crime
Again, two separate convenience store robberies. In both robberies, one man grabs the cash while his buddy holds up the shopkeeper. In both robberies, the gunman takes a shot at the shopkeeper as they are making their escape. In one robbery the gunman shot kills the shopkeeper, in the other robbery, the shot misses completely. One cashgrabber would be charged with armed robbery, the other would be charged with both armed robbery and felony murder.
Both criminals had the same intent, the two crimes had different outcomes, but the punishment is DIFFERENT.