The Tennessean ran a story this weekend about a woman who has been charged with vehicular homicide by criminal responsibility for the conduct of another.
For those who don't know, this is not a new law. Prior to changes in the code this crime was called aiding and abetting. In 1990 in State v Brown, Robert Brown allowed his drunken brother to drive his car resulting in both being convicted. Their crimes were affirmed in the Court of Criminal Appeals. In September 1991 Tina Williamson allowed another impaired person drive her vehicle in Smyna. After the crash Williamson was convicted and the conviction was affirmed in 1995. The newspaper tells about another case, State v Pierce. In it Pierce in 2004 permitted an impaired driver to drive, crash and kill and his conviction was affirmed in 2006.
Criminal Responsibility for the conduct of another is charged in other crimes as well. The get- away driver in a robbery is every bit as responsible for what happens in a robbery as the gunman. In a drag race the person who drops the flag is as responsible for the outcome of a deadly race as are the drivers. In a shooting, if the shooter is using your gun with your knowledge and kills someone.....
The driver in the case featured in the Tennessean is presumed innocent and in time there will be an outcome. There is no point in speculating about such things and in fact it is probably unethical for any lawyer to speculate about the outcome of a pending criminal case.
The lesson of the article is clear. Don't ever let a person drive your car while impaired or hold up your favorite gas station, or borrow your gun to shoot someone. You may end on trial due to his/her actions.
Read the story in the Tennessean at:
Hermitage woman faces vehicular homicide after handing over keys to boyfriend | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment