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[DCX]

Can you get charged with murder if you scare someone and they die from it? I'm thinking no, it would be like if someone died from getting scared from watching a movie correct? I doubt anyone intended to kill someone by scaring them so it would be murder...what jury on this planet convict that?

Discuss

DCX

 

[xsarien]

All right, what did you do?

 

[calder]

Well, that's the plot to about a dozen Murder She Wrotes/Sherlock Holmes/Ms. Marple's, so I'm going to say there's a crime there somewhere. If they can prove you know someone had a weak heart say and can prove you tried to scare them (and you had a motive) I bet they'd be able to find something to charge you with. If it was a normal person and you had no reason to want them to die I can't imagine it'd be against the law.

 

[Malakhov]

All right, what did you do?

Yep.

 

[Dan]

No idea, but I'm sure some really controversial lawsuits would come out of such a situation.

Manslaughter might be a possibility though... I think, at least from what I've read about it. I think it'd still be a damned tough sell.

 

[DCX]

All right, what did you do?

Nothing...but it's what i might do...that's the question, i can become the world's first serial scarer...and never go to jail, i think i found a loop hole....not that anyone will die from a scare LOL

DCX

 

[xsarien]

Nothing...but it's what i might do...that's the question, i can become the world's first serial scarer...and never go to jail, i think i found a loop hole....not that anyone will die from a scare LOL

DCX

Well strictly speaking, whatever the means, if it's deliberate and designed to cause death it's still murder.

 

[DCX]

Well, that's the plot to about a dozen Murder She Wrotes/Sherlock Holmes/Ms. Marple's, so I'm going to say there's a crime there somewhere. If they can prove you know someone had a weak heart say and can prove you tried to scare them (and you had a motive) I bet they'd be able to find something to charge you with. If it was a normal person and you had no reason to want them to die I can't imagine it'd be against the law.

That's what i thought, a freak accident.

DCX

 

[Tenguman]

It's still murder if they can prove intent. Otherwise it's manslaughter.

 

[DCX]

Well strictly speaking, whatever the means, if it's deliberate and designed to cause death it's still murder.

I'm kidding of course about the serial scarer thing, but the debate is if you were fooling around and tried to scare someone...obviously not trying to kill them, but if they died would you get charged for murder and do time. I don't think so, someone at work said 100% that you would becuase you killed someone. Yes the scaring was intentional, not really designed to cause death though...i wonder...any lawyers in here?

DCX

 

[DCX]

It's still murder if they can prove intent. Otherwise it's manslaughter.

Intent? Intent to kill someone with a scare?? I agree the intent to scare...but it's obvious that the probability of death in scaring someone is next to nil...just as high as death from a flying chainsaw...explain Manslaughter.

DCX

 

[Dan]

Here's a definition.

manslaughter
n. the unlawful killing of another person without premeditation or so-called "malice aforethought" (an evil intent prior to the killing). It is distinguished from murder (which brings greater penalties) by lack of any prior intention to kill anyone or create a deadly situation. There are two levels of manslaughter: voluntary and involuntary. Voluntary manslaughter includes killing in heat of passion or while committing a felony. Involuntary manslaughter occurs when a death is caused by a violation of a non-felony, such as reckless driving (called "vehicular manslaughter"). Examples: Eddy Hothead gets into a drunken argument in a saloon with his acquaintance Bob Bonehead, and Hothead hits Bonehead over the head with a beer bottle, causing internal bleeding and death. Brent Burgle sneaks into a warehouse intent on theft and is surprised by a security man, whom Burgle knocks down a flight of stairs, killing him. Both are voluntary manslaughter. However, if either man had used a gun, a murder charge is most likely since he brought a deadly weapon to use in the crime. The immediate rage in finding a loved one in bed with another followed by a killing before the passion cools usually limits the charge to voluntary manslaughter and not murder, but prior attacks could convince a District Attorney and a jury that the killing was not totally spontaneous. Lenny Leadfoot drives 70 miles per hour on a twisting mountain road, goes off a cliff and his passenger is killed in the crash. Leadfoot can be charged with involuntary manslaughter.

 

[Vormund]

QUICK DELETE THIS EVIDENCE.

O_O

 

[DCX]

Hmmm...I can see how manslaughter might be a possibility because i guess there is NO WAy anyone will " get away" with killing someone without penalty, bt i don't see how scaring someone by accident of course be considered anything but just a freak accident. I mean the example with the beer bottle, well the dude hit him...there's intent to injure...unfortunate the guy died but he hit him anyway...assualt maybe. Now in scaring the intent for injury really isn't there...who knows maybe no one has ever died from getting scared so no precedence...i don't know, i just need either a clear cut answer/explanation or at least a majority of opinions one way or another.

DCX

 

[Dan]

I mean the example with the beer bottle, well the dude hit him...there's intent to injure...unfortunate the guy died but he hit him anyway...assualt maybe. Now in scaring the intent for injury really isn't there...

The intent is to scare, unless you can make it truly, truly appear accidental or incidental, in which case, it'd be extremely hard to make it appear unplanned. And if the intent is to scare, and the person dies from the scare...

I mean, if you're just appearing from around a corner and a guy gets startled and dies, that'd probably be absolutely nothing. But any form of prolonged scare would almost certainly be charged with manslaughter. You couldn't chase someone or anything like that, as intent is inherent there and probably signs that it's going too far.

 

[Blackace]

"Lenny Leadfoot drives 70 miles per hour on a twisting mountain road, goes off a cliff and his passenger is killed in the crash. Leadfoot can be charged with involuntary manslaughter."

 

[DCX]

So i guess i'm right and wrong...the person i'm debating says murder i said it's nothing...accidental....not murder. Thanks alot.

DCX

 

[DCX]

"Lenny Leadfoot drives 70 miles per hour on a twisting mountain road, goes off a cliff and his passenger is killed in the crash. Leadfoot can be charged with involuntary manslaughter."

Well driving 70 miles per hour is already against the law # 1, reckless and the death should be his responsibility...i don't see how scaring someone be considered reckless

DCX

 

[Dan]

Well, bad example on the part of the writer. You could change that to any legal speed and it'd still be involuntary manslaughter.

 

[DopeyFish]

Well, bad example on the part of the writer. You could change that to any legal speed and it'd still be involuntary manslaughter.

it's not like the dude would be around to prove the case, what will they do? an autopsy? it would look like natural causes

 

[HAOHMARU]

Pre-meditation will get you. If you never intended to scare somebody to death they could never pin it on you, but if you planned it...they send you to ol' Sparky.

 

[Matt]

If your intent was to scare someone, and they die from it, but you had no way of reasonably knowing what would happen, you’re probably OK. You MIGHT get charged with manslaughter, but I doubt any jury would convict you.

 

[DCX]

If your intent was to scare someone, and they die from it, but you had no way of reasonably knowing what would happen, you’re probably OK. You MIGHT get charged with manslaughter, but I doubt any jury would convict you.

That's exactly what i think. I doubt any jury in the free world would convict that. Like someone else said, if i knew of a heart condition then it's murder. The topic of debate is murder and jail time, it seems we all agree to a certain extent that murder is out of the question...and getting convicted would take ALOT...

DCX

 

[DCX]

Pre-meditation will get you. If you never intended to scare somebody to death they could never pin it on you, but if you planned it...they send you to ol' Sparky.

Well there's has to be a line though...let's say you give someone a drink because they are thirsty...you don't know this person has problems swallowing they need thicken drink and they die...you didn't know but your drink caused their death...guilty? Pre-meditation of course you GAVE the person the drink. Well...i guess not because the victim knowingly put you in a hard position knowing that outcome could be death...you would be off the hook, getting scare unless you can prove you guys were playing a game...meaning the victim scared you first and you planed to scare him/her back and they die then it would be the same....hmm

DCX

 

[Gattsu25]

Let me see if I got this:
scaring someone and them dying by accident is an accident
planning to scare someone and them dying is involuntary manslaughter
planning to scare someone to death, asking about it on a message board, then scaring the person to death = ?

I'm stuck at the last step

 

[Cerebral Palsy]

Let me see if I got this:
scaring someone and them dying by accident is an accident
planning to scare someone and them dying is involuntary manslaughter
planning to scare someone to death, asking about it on a message board, then scaring the person to death = ?

I'm stuck at the last step

HOMICIDE

 

[DCX]

Let me see if I got this:
scaring someone and them dying by accident is an accident
planning to scare someone and them dying is involuntary manslaughter
planning to scare someone to death, asking about it on a message board, then scaring the person to death = ?

I'm stuck at the last step

LOL you shouldn't be...it's just a topic of discussion that came up at work lst night and i'm trying to gather all the info i can to go back and win the debate Although if you hear of any scare deaths in the Central New York area then you might want to turn me in

DCX