ADM JUS 2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Respiratory Arrest, Felony Murder Rule, Homicide
8 Dec 2020
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People v. smith: facts: defendant took amy into her bedroom after amy disobeyed her. Defendant spanked amy and slapped her in the face. The defendant hit amy repeatedly, knocking her to the floor. She fell, hitting her head on the closet door. Here, the defendant willfully inflicted physical pain on a child. Said conduct was the basis of the felony child abuse charge and was in turn the conduct that caused her death. Defendant cannot be guilty of both the felony child abuse and murder: discussion. The merger doctrine forbids conviction of both a felony and a murder if the felony relates to conduct that directly causes the death. For example, if a person robs another and then beats him to death, he cannot be convicted of both assault and murder since the assault led to the murder. Because the point is to rob and you can rob without being assaultive.
