Re:Call of Duty gaming community points to ‘swatting’ in Wic...
by revelation on Friday December 29, 2017 @06:25PM
(#16032752)
The whole point of depraved heart murder is to put intent aside and refer back to mere actions. I can already read the statement of the swatter claiming his intent was to pull a prank on a loose friend. Follow the reasoning in Maldonado and you are not getting anywhere near depraved heart murder.
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Re:Call of Duty gaming community points to ‘swatting’ in Wic...
by tptacek on Friday December 29, 2017 @06:30PM
(#16032772)
No, that's not the point of depraved heart murder. It's a culpable state-of-mind standard that requires the prosecution to prove that the defendant acted with "utter disregard" for human life. The predicates are (1) a set of reckless actions that were likely to put lives at risk and (2) a total indifference, unmitigated by any actions whatsover to prevent harm, to the prospect of causing harm.
Read the case you just cited. It overturns a depraved indifference conviction and so goes deep into the details on this.