Shooting someone that's already dead....

[Lakitu]

Excuse the daft question, but I was watching an episode of Columbo last week and the story was that a man shot his girlfriend, but it transpires she had already been shot dead 3 hours previously (you'd think he'd notice, but hey ho).

I've been wondering ever since, what charges would this guy be tried for? Can't be murder because she was already dead?

Thank you

[webbo3]

attempted murder (as he did try to kill her).
mutilation ( or something like that, of a corpse).

i would think, anyway.


Dave.

[DaisyMae]

Actually I don't think you can try to kill an already dead person, so attempted murder wouldn't be an option. Discharging a gun to the danger or detriment of the public, having a gun without a license or conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace. These seem to be more likely, but as you have already said it is extremely unlikely that he would not have noticed that his girlfriend was dead.

[Lakitu]

LOL, I didn't think it was possible to attempt to murder someone that was already dead too.

The guy would have most likely had a licence (USA), so I'm guessing that webbo's mutiliating a corpse and some kind of charge for the gun would be the most he'd get?

Can you see why these thoughts keep me awake at night? LOL!

[DaisyMae]

You should think pure thoughts - lol

Being American just about anything goes where guns are concerned and I think the laws vary from state to state anyway, so in all probability he would get off with a slapped wrist for causing noise polution (unless he had a silencer). :)

[Lakitu]

LOL!!! No silencer so slapped wrist for noise pollution then :o)

[ChuckFickens]

I'm deeply concerned about some of these thoughts that are keeping you awake at night :)

they would only get done for the noise in America if it was in a built up area with local bye laws governing the firing of guns, otherwise you are generally free to shot whatever weapon you want where you want.

Scary place to be sometimes :)

[Lakitu]

It wasn't a residential area so looks like he's got off scott free! Blimey!

At least I'll sleep tonight :o)

[ChuckFickens]

it would appear they wouldn't get off Scott free.

[E] Hybrid Legal Impossibility � Hybrid legal impossibility (or "legal impossibility") exists if the defendant�s goal is illegal, but commission of the offense is impossible due to a factual mistake (and not simply a misunderstanding of the law) regarding the legal status of an attendant circumstance that constitutes an element of the charged offense, e.g., receiving unstolen property under the belief that such property was stolen, or shooting a corpse believing it is alive.

[Lakitu]

Soooooo...........what would he be tried for amd what would the sentence be?

[gouldc]

Funnily enough, I remember reading recentl;y (in a local paer I think), about a stupid bloke who tried selling caffeine pills, thinking he had ecstacy (not a case of ripping other people off, he just didn;t realise he had been ripped off).

He was charged with intent to supply despite the fact that he had not actually done anything wrong (I suppose you could argue that he did intend to do something wrong, but it's how the law is interpreted I suppose).

He got a custodial sentence - can;t remember how long, but I'm sure it was about the same as he would if he was actually dealing (maybe four years of memory serves)

[Lakitu]

Haha! Brilliant!

Now, I wonder how they even managed to charge him. If I were in his position (I'm not a dealer, honest!), I would hedge my bets that my 'clients' hadn't gone and complained to the authorities that they weren't getting what I said it was so therefore I could just say that I knew it was caffine tablets and not mention I was dumb enough to think it was anything else. Is it illegal to sell tablets to someone you can buy over the counter yourself? (I know it is for prescription drugs)

When I was in Primary 5, I took blue tac from my teacher's desk and sold it in strips in the playground as chewing gum at 50p per strip.

[fredpuli47]

Attempted murder. The man has the intent to kill and attempts to do so.The fact that what he's attempting is impossible to achieve does not avail him. If someone shoots a decoy dummy, thinking it the person he wants to kill or administers what he thinks to be poison, but which is in fact harmless, with the intent to kill, he can't be allowed to get away with what would have been murder, simply because he made a mistake or held a mistaken belief .

Case: Rv Shivpuri [1987] A.C. 1. HL That was 'mistaken belief' in a drugs case [accused tried to import heroin, but the stuff was harmless] The House of Lords explained the application of the Criminal Attempts Act 1981 to cases where the impossible was attempted , and what constituted an attempt in such cases. The result is that Lakitu's example would be attempted murder.

[Lakitu]

Thank you very much, Fred! :o)

[uno.who]

Fred's explanation is a leap of faith too far. The difference between the drugs scenario and shooting a corpse is that the former still has a "victim" or potential victim (the fact that it's fraud as opposed to the drugs supply is irrelevant as the victim BELIEVED they were receiving drugs).

You can only kill someone once. The corpse has no victim status beyond death. For example .... you cannot murder someone and then rape them (taken from real life incidents in UK). Trust me, I used to deal with this type of crime!

[Lakitu]

So the charge would be....??

[uno.who]

The mutilation of a corpse is an offence at common law, and under some statutes the unauthorized dissection of a dead body is a specific criminal offence. Someone who receives a body for the purpose of dissection with the knowledge that it has been unlawfully removed is subject to prosecution. Sexual activity with a corpse is now a specific statutory crime in UK. In Austria - violation of the dignity of the dead is punishable by 6 months imprisonment. In Scotland, violation of the "buried" dead is a separate offence (Violation of Sepulchre). There are other offences which might apply worldwide, including interfering with a crime scene (where you were not the original offender). Confused ? .... it's a weird world out there !