A draconian legal doctrine called **felony murder** has put thousands of Americans — disproportionately young and Black — in prison
https://1ft.io/proxy?q=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/12/18/felony-murder-lawsOpen linkView original on lemmy.world119
Comments16
If we are going to use felony murder as a charge, we should start using it with executives who make decisions that get people killed like the Sackler family.
The Sacklerd are white and rich, therefore they are above the law.
So the police broke a policy that was instituted to prevent people getting killed during high-speed chases, two people died, and the police officers involved suffered no consequences? Instead someone who was not even in the vehicle got life in prison?
This is a weird instance to use this law. I've only ever heard examples where the odds of killing are high, such as armed robbery. So, a getaway driver when they take the armed robber to/from the scene. If the guy ends up shooting and killing someone the driver gets charged.
I don't see how anyone could reasonably think that stealing from cars would end up with someone else being hurt or killed. They didn't even take any weapons.
If stealing the car leads to a chase that ends with an accident and death, I can see it.
Didn't read the article to know if that's the case here or not.
It's not.
Two guys breaking into cars got caught, one went quietly while the other ran, drove off, and (much later) hit some cyclists killing them. Both charged with murder.
Ah, I see.
Another story about this case:
https://felonymurderreporting.org/stories/sadik-baxter/
Hold on, the guy broke into five cars and stole whatever he could carry, stole one of them with a friend, then sped off recklessly and killed a man.
And I'm supposed to pity that man?
No, they didn't steal a car or speed off recklessly. They were arrested on site while someone else fled the scene.
Are we even reading the same fucking article?
Reading is fundamental.
Yup, dude created the plan and executed it, but then now I see it was his assistant that went off and committed manslaughter.
The article is written to hide his involvement in things because he's absolutely not worth any pity outside of being a victim of the US' abysmal health care system.
You think stealing from five cars warrants life in prison?
that we know about.
You're using a straw man.
No. Sadik Baxter stole from 5 cars and was arrested at the scene. His accomplis is the one who fled and killed someone in the process.
No. Sadik Baxter stole from 5 cars and was arrested at the scene. His accomplis is the one who fled and killed someone in the process.