mainecoder
4 hours ago
Anyone commenting please watch the video first. Would a reasonable jury determine this to be Attempted Second-degree Murder? perhaps it is, any thoughts from a person with criminal law experience? We clearly see the car turning, going out of its way towards the person. Additionally, a pursuit on foot would have been possible the car qualifies as a deadly weapon in this case I think.
Terr_
2 hours ago
> criminal law experience
So IANAL, let alone a trial-lawyer, but I did spend weeks/days with 11 other people listening/deliberating after a cop-adjacent defendant non-fatally shot somebody.
> Attempted Second-degree Murder?
Hold up, what this means varies by state: Illinois law says that second-degree still requires an intent to kill [0], and I think the prosecution may have a hard time proving beyond reasonable doubt that the driver intended to turn the victim into road-splatter.
In contrast, the next step down of (attempted?) "Involuntary Manslaughter and Reckless Homicide" seems much easier to prove, and explicitly draws in a surprising number of vehicle-related details.
[0] https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ILCS/details?MajorTopic=RIG...
butvacuum2
an hour ago
"intent" is not what you're representing. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand using lethal force will result in death.
A reasonable person would expect severe injury or death from running somebody over, and that is enough to satisfy 'intent.'
"Caaarl!! THAT KILLS PEOPLE!" "How was I supposed to know stabbing him 37 times in the chest would do that?"
ShowalkKama
2 hours ago
>Would a reasonable jury determine this to be Attempted Second-degree Murder?
would you?
I would certainly consider him guilty, if not of exactly that crime.
lux-lux-lux
3 hours ago
> Would a reasonable jury determine this to be Attempted Second-degree Murder?
No, because it’s a law enforcement officer doing it.
mandeepj
2 hours ago
> No, because it’s a law enforcement officer doing it.
Possible! Many police officers have gone to jail for murdering people.
FireBeyond
3 hours ago
Not to mention the "re-positioning" of the victim's vehicle to shore up ICE's narrative.
Don't worry though, just like https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50090246 someone will be along to say "mistakes are inevitable, but we need to enforce immigration law, and this is an acceptable price, though not ideal".