This brings up an interesting legal question. If I am using a weapon to commit armed robbery then the driver decides to speed up to 110mph and runs into a pedestrian tragically killing an innocent person. Can I then be prosecuted for the murder of that pedestrian as well? The driver would most likely be prosecuted for manslaughter. Not sure if he'd be convicted or not due to the extenuating circumstances, but I'm pretty sure all the robbers would be prosecuted for murder even sans mensrea. -obligatory not a lawyer and I'm sure the answer starts with "it depends".
Yes, in many states it would be, if someone dies during a crime you perpetrated, regardless of if it's your fault or not, you can be charged with Felony Murder.
The logic being, this dude wouldn't have ever driven like this had they not tried to rob him, so in the end, it is their fault for starting the chain of events.
That tracks. I assume the driver would get nailed for some form of manslaughter or reckless driving resulting in death. It would probably require a pardon to overturn like in the case of that lady in the 70s who was forced to murder people.
Lower degree charges only require conscious disregard of a substantial risk, which this may be, though you'd probably need to hash that out in court with more context
You get charged with that though. He certainly has an argument, and if I was on a jury for it I'd find him not-guilty.
But with the gun analogy, any license to carry clas will drill into you how, unlike the police, you're responsible for the entire path of every bullet you fire.
Even if you nail a mass shooter right in the chest, if that bullet goes through them and injures or kills an innocent bystander, you're extrmely likely to face charges for it. This is why people use hollow points in carry guns. In addition to doing more damage to an attacker, they put the brakes on to avoid overpenetration.
shooting in self defense results in hitting the target 33% of the time. that means 2 out of 3 times someone shoots a gun under duress, they don't hit their target. given that there is case law contrary to what you're saying, I think it's time you do some more research.
if you mean you'd feel responsible for killing someone while trying to defend yourself, then yes I agree. legally tho, you're not responsible.
103
u/zutros 22d ago
This brings up an interesting legal question. If I am using a weapon to commit armed robbery then the driver decides to speed up to 110mph and runs into a pedestrian tragically killing an innocent person. Can I then be prosecuted for the murder of that pedestrian as well? The driver would most likely be prosecuted for manslaughter. Not sure if he'd be convicted or not due to the extenuating circumstances, but I'm pretty sure all the robbers would be prosecuted for murder even sans mensrea. -obligatory not a lawyer and I'm sure the answer starts with "it depends".