The Glade 4.0

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/24/cal ... tml?hpt=T2

(CNN) -- One man was electrocuted and his female partner was severely burned after the couple attempted to steal copper wire from a vacant property in Southern California, police said.

"I believe they thought the power was off," said Lt. Keith Hupp of the South Gate Police Department.

"It was a pretty ugly scene," he added.

A witness said he rushed to the site after hearing an explosion.

"I just heard a loud explosion and a lady screaming, just screaming like crazy, so I walked over there and I seen her like half burned, and she was just like crying, asking for help for her husband," Jose Carrasco told CNN affiliate KABC.

Police said they believe they found the couple's children -- ages 3 and 6 -- waiting in a truck near the vacant property when they arrived at the scene Saturday afternoon.

The woman was being treated for severe burn injuries and listed in critical condition Saturday night, Hupp said, and the children were in the custody of protective services.

Police have not released the names of the victims pending notification of next of kin.

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Technically, the woman can be charged with murder if the copper is worth enough to make the theft a felony.

So post your stupid crooks (Felony Darwin?) stories in this thread. Lets see where it goes.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Um, I think she knows?

I don't understand how she can be "technically charged with murder".

I think Michael is alluding to the law that if a death occurs during the commission of a felony, then it's chargeable as murder to the person committing the crime.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

I haven't actually read that statute that closely... but generally I believe the intent was to protect the victim. Has an accomplice in a felony every been charged, much less convicted, of murder when the other perpetrator dies?

How does that work with castle doctrine? Two people break into a house... owner is home and kills one of the intruders... the other intruder is charged with murder of his accomplice? Interesting tactic.

Yup, that's the way it plays out.

An example I've seen prosecuted and convicted:
Two guys rob a gas station, they drive off; the police start to chase them the driver panics and drives off an over-pass killing his partner. Driver lives and is charged with murder in the commission of a felony.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Interesting, but in this case (the OP), it would be the passenger charged with murder for the driver taking the care off an over-pass. While I'm not against punishing stupidity like this (trying to steal live wires), it seems like a stretch.

If the driver died and the passenger lived, the passenger would be eligible for prosecution under the Felony Murder Rule. Any time anyone is killed in the commission of a (violent) felony, it applies; of course this isn't true in all jurisdictions.

In the case of the copper thieves, I'd put up a defense that the Rule doesn't apply because the actual crime wan't a violent one, and doesn't rise to the level needed for the Rule to apply, but that too is limited by jurisdiction.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

The rationale behind the murder charge for a death in commission of a felony is that the heightened tension and danger created by the commission of the felony elevates the likelihood of violence. Thus, participating in the felony is akin to the negligence that can also result in a murder charge; you knew that death would be much more likely, and ignored that threat to yourself and those around you.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Yeah, understood Kaffis. Its the charging of the accomplice in the accidental death of a fellow conspirator that seems odd. But in doing some research, not all states allow for that charge. That, and Vind is also correct that the crime usually has to incorporate a element of violence, which this does not.

I read some article recently that theft of pretty much any and all metal within reach has risen sharply, fueled by the poor economy, and I can believe it since I've actually seen it driving around while working - that pick-up truck with piles of random metal objects in the back, rolling very slowly through the neighborhood, as a Mexican fellow occasionally darts out of the passenger side to grab more.