CR24-301 04/29/16
FIRST-DEGREE MURDER (WILFUL,
DELIBERATE AND PREMEDITATED KILLING) (13 V.S.A. § 2301 and Common Law), WITH
TRANSITION CHARGES TO LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSES (in cases lacking evidence of
sudden passion or great provocation)
First-Degree
Murder
The State has charged (Def)_______________ with first-degree murder, as follows:
[Read the charge.]
Every crime is made up of essential
elements. Before (Def)_______________ can be
found guilty of the charge, the State must have proven each of the essential
elements beyond a reasonable doubt. In this case, the essential elements
of first-degree murder are that on the date and at the place alleged,
(1)
(Def)_______________;
(2)
caused the death of
(victim)_______________;
(3)
the killing was
unlawful;
(4)
(Def)_______________’s
killing of (victim)_______________ was wilful;
(5)
[his] [her] killing of
(victim)_______________ was deliberate; and
(6)
[his] [her] killing of (victim)_______________ was premeditated.
The first essential element is that (Def)_______________ is the person who committed the alleged
acts.
The second essential element is that
(Def)_______________ caused the death of
(victim)_______________. The State must have proven that (Def)_______________’s acts produced (victim)_______________’s
death in a natural and continuous sequence, unbroken by any efficient
intervening cause. [An efficient intervening cause would be an
unexpected, independent force that broke the connection between (Def)_______________’s acts and (victim)_______________’s
death.] You must conclude that (victim)_______________’s
life ended by means other than natural causes, accident, or suicide. You
must also conclude that, but for (Def)_______________’s
acts, (victim)_______________’s death would not have occurred.
Here the State alleges that (Def)_______________ caused the death of (victim)_______________
by (specific acts)_________________________.
The third essential element is that the
killing was unlawful. The term unlawful killing means that (victim)_______________ was killed without legal excuse or legal
justification. Legal excuse or justification ordinarily refers to such
things as self-defense or legal necessity. [A killing may be justified
where a person acts in self-defense, or in defense of another, or in trying to
stop another person attempting to commit certain violent felonies. Here,
the State must have proven that (Def)_______________
did not act in self-defense, or in defense of another, or in trying to stop
another person attempting to commit (felony)_______________ with force or
violence.]
The fourth, fifth, and sixth essential
elements require the State to have proven that (Def)_______________
acted with the required mental state or intent. The intent with which a
person acts may be shown by the way in which the person expresses it to others,
or by his or her conduct. In determining (Def)_______________’s
mental state or intent, you should consider all of the surrounding facts and
circumstances established by the evidence.
The fourth essential element is that
(Def)_______________’s killing of
(victim)_______________ was wilful. A wilful act is one which is
knowing and intentional. You may find that the killing was wilful if (Def)_______________ killed (victim)_______________ on purpose,
and not accidentally, carelessly or unintentionally.
The fifth essential element is that (Def)_______________’s killing of (victim)_______________ was
deliberate. An act is deliberate if it is carefully
considered. (Def)_______________ must not have acted out of sudden
impulse, but rather after deliberating for a period of time, however long or
short. Deliberation is the act of thinking about and considering the
reasons for and against an act or course of conduct. A person may think
about a killing over a period of months or over a period of seconds; either
period of time may be enough. The issue is the extent and quality of the
deliberation, not its duration. Also, it is not enough to show that (Def)_______________ had enough time to deliberate. The
State must have proven that [he] [she] actually thought about killing (victim)_______________ before [he] [she] did it.
The last essential element is that (Def)_______________’s killing of (victim)_______________ was
premeditated. A killing is premeditated if the actor thinks about
it and plans it for some period of time before acting. Premeditation
differs from deliberation in that it involves planning how to do an act, in
addition to thinking about whether or not to do it. No specific amount of
time is required. As with deliberation, a person may plan a killing over
a period of months or over a period of seconds; both may be
premeditation. The issue is the extent and quality of the premeditation,
not its duration. Again, it is not enough to show that there was enough time
for premeditation. The State must have proven that (Def)_______________
actually thought about killing (victim)_______________, and planned it, before
[he] [she] did it.
All of the elements of the offense must
have been present at the same time. If the State has proven each of the
essential elements of first-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt, then you
will be done with your deliberations, and you must return a verdict that (Def)_______________ is guilty of first-degree murder.
Transition
If you decide that the State has not
proven each of the essential elements of first-degree murder, then you must
consider whether (Def)_______________ is guilty of one
of the lesser offenses; or, if you are unable to agree upon a verdict
concerning the charge of first-degree murder, after all reasonable efforts to
reach a unanimous verdict, then you may move on to consider the lesser
offenses.
Lesser
Included Offenses
In this case, the lesser included
offenses to first-degree murder are second-degree murder and involuntary
manslaughter. The first three elements
for the lesser offenses are the same as the first three elements for first-degree
murder, namely, the State must have proven (1) that (Def)_______________
(2) caused the death of (victim)_______________, and (3) that the killing was
unlawful. However, for the lesser offenses, the State need not have
proven that the killing was wilful, deliberate, and premeditated. The
mental elements are different for each of the lesser offenses.
Second-Degree
Murder
The first lesser offense for you to
consider is second-degree murder. If you reach the point of deciding
whether or not the State has proven the lesser crime of second-degree murder,
you must consider whether the State has proven the following essential elements
beyond a reasonable doubt: that on the date alleged and at the place alleged:
(1)
(Def)_______________;
(2)
caused the death of
(victim)_______________;
(3)
the killing was
unlawful; and
(4)
in
causing the death of (victim)_______________, (Def)_______________ acted with
an intent to kill, or an intent to do great bodily harm, or a wanton disregard
of the likelihood that death or great bodily harm would result.
The first three essential elements are
defined in the same way as they are defined for first-degree murder.
The last essential element of second-degree
murder is that, in causing the death of (victim)_______________,
(Def)_______________ acted with (1) an intent to kill, or (2) an intent to do
great bodily harm, or (3) a wanton disregard of the likelihood that death or
great bodily harm would result. As you consider (Def)_______________’s
mental state at the time of the killing, you should consider all of the
surrounding facts and circumstances, and you must decide whether the State has
proven that (Def)_______________ acted with at least one of these three mental
states.
A person acts intentionally if he
or she acts purposely, and not inadvertently, because of mistake, or by
accident. You may find that (Def)_______________
acted intentionally if it was [his] [her] conscious objective to cause death or
great bodily harm to (victim)_______________.
The term great bodily harm means
bodily injury which involves a substantial risk of death, serious permanent
disfigurement, or long-term loss or impairment of the function of any part of
an organ of the body.
As used here, a wanton act is a
reckless act done with extreme indifference to the probability that someone
would die as a result. It is more than extreme negligence. The
State must have proven that (Def)_______________ was actually
aware of the risk of death or great bodily harm, and that [he] [she] ignored
that risk. In determining (Def)_______________’s
state of mind, you should consider all of the facts and circumstances
established by the evidence.
All of the elements of the offense must
have been present at the same time. If the State has proven each of the
essential elements of second-degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt, then you
will be done with your deliberations, and you must return a verdict that (Def)_______________ is guilty of second-degree murder.
Transition
If you decide that the State has not
proven each of the essential elements of second- degree murder, then you must
consider whether (Def)_______________ is guilty of the
lesser offense of involuntary manslaughter.
Or, if you are unable to agree upon a verdict concerning the offense of
second-degree murder after all reasonable efforts to reach a unanimous verdict,
then you may move on to consider the lesser offense of involuntary
manslaughter.
Involuntary
Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter is an unlawful
killing of another human being, done with no intent to take human life.
It is an unintentional killing where the person acts with criminal negligence
by failing to perceive the risk of death or serious bodily injury.
If you reach the point of deciding
whether or not the State has proven the lesser charge of involuntary
manslaughter, you must consider whether the State has proven the following
essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt: that on the date alleged and at
the place alleged:
(1)
(Def)_______________;
(2)
caused the death of
(victim)_______________;
(3)
the killing was
unlawful; and
(4)
in
causing the death of (victim)_______________, (Def)_______________ acted with
criminal negligence.
The first three essential elements are
defined in the same way as I have already defined them for the other degrees of
unlawful killing.
The last essential element of
involuntary manslaughter is that, in causing the death of (victim)_______________, (Def)_______________ acted with criminal
negligence. Criminal negligence means something more than ordinary
carelessness. It means that (Def)_______________
disregarded a risk of death to such a degree that [his] [her] failure to
perceive it, given the circumstances, involved a gross deviation from the
standard of care that a reasonable person would have exercised in the same
situation. In determining (Def)_______________’s
state of mind, you should consider all of the surrounding facts and
circumstances established by the evidence.
All of the elements of the offense must
have been present at the same time. If the State has not proven each of
the essential elements of involuntary manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt,
then you must find (Def)_______________ not
guilty. However, if the State has proven all of the essential elements
beyond a reasonable doubt, you must return a verdict of guilty.
Presumption
of Innocence
When considering the degree of unlawful
killing that might be involved in this case, the presumption of innocence plays
two roles. First, (Def)_______________ is
presumed to be innocent of any crime. Second, if you find beyond a
reasonable doubt that (Def)_______________ committed
an unlawful killing, then you must give [him] [her] the benefit of any
reasonable doubt in deciding the degree of the offense. In other words,
you must apply the presumption of innocence, and weigh it against the evidence
at each step of your deliberations. Nevertheless, if all of the evidence,
weighed along with the presumption of innocence, convinces you beyond a
reasonable doubt that (Def)_______________ is guilty
of one of the higher degrees the offense, then you must find [him] [her] guilty
of the highest degree of the offense that has been proven beyond a reasonable
doubt.
Verdict
Your verdict will be one of the four
possible verdicts:
(1)
Not guilty of any crime;
(2)
Guilty of first-degree
murder;
(3)
Guilty of second-degree
murder; or
(4)
Guilty of involuntary
manslaughter.