Posted on 12/19/2006 10:28:56 AM PST by Moose4
In order to charge somebody with felony murder, there has to be an felony. Tossing an egg at a car is obnoxious, but it is not a felony.
Is that supposed to be some sort of yolk?
"Two words: Lexington & Concord."
I think that was a few years ago. Society might have changed a smidge since then.
Actually, it was acorns. A bunch of older kids were out in front of the school one day, throwing acorns at the passing cars. They kept missing them behind, because the cars were moving about 60 mph.
I thought this was my chance to be really cool, so I explained how they had to lead the car, and showed them how they could throw the acorn up to the same height on the side of the road in order to judge when they would have to throw it to actually hit a car.
After a couple of test throws along the side in order to get the timing down, I tossed one for real at the next car, and caught it perfect, sqare on the windshield.
I don't know if the older kids were impressed or not, because they got out of there a lot quicker than me. I got hauled into the Pricipal's office, and it was not good for me at all.
Come to think of it, it might have been a set-up from the git-go...
It would depend on the jurisdiction, but an aggressive prosecutor should be able to come up with a charge. Someone posted upthread about post 47 a felony that would probably work in Virginia. You could probably find a predicate felony that would work in Ohio.
She's lucky she didn't get bitten by a møøse.
Chances are a prosecutor wouldn't waste time on a felony charge for something like this, unless it caused an accident--which it could, of course, quite easily do.
If nothing else, maybe this can be a cautionary tale for those prospective egg-throwers out there. But then again, maybe not--14-year-olds are indestructible, just ask them.
}:-)4
My own speculation is that the driver was drug-related. A runner or dealer of some magnitude.
Lunatic fringe here.
The Virginia code referenced in Post 47 was 18.2-154:
Any person who maliciously shoots at, or maliciously throws any missile at or against, any train or cars on any railroad or other transportation company or any vessel or other watercraft, or any motor vehicle or other vehicles when occupied by one or more persons, whereby the life of any person on such train, car, vessel, or other watercraft, or in such motor vehicle or other vehicle, may be put in peril, is guilty of a Class 4 felony. In the event of the death of any such person, resulting from such malicious shooting or throwing, the person so offending is guilty of murder in the second degree. However, if the homicide is willful, deliberate and premeditated, he is guilty of murder in the first degree. (emphasis mine)
So, in order for this to be a felony, the "missile" would have to put the life of the occupant of the vehicle in peril. An egg is not going to put anybody's life in peril, so it would not qualify. You can't kill somebody inside a moving vehicle with an egg.
Therefore there is no underlying felony, and no way this could be felony murder.
But it's much harder to hit a moving car with Oscar Mayer Bologna...
This is why I tell kids in the neighborhood that act delinquent they ought to be weary of the person that will react this way. Anger the wrong person and you may end up dead - so you better watch out how much you screw around with peoples' property lest you end up dealing with the law of consequences.
I can't tell you how many parents I've talked to that when told this reasonably, they agree and start straightening out their children. You just never know who that person will be that goes off the deep end and kills you for some perceived slight, let alone a known one.
Bottom line, killing the kid was wrong, but the kid put himself in a bad situation and paid dearly for his choice!
Is that Harding College?
No, you just don't lead them as much...
My misspellings are planned and if you consider that initial string of words logic, then I can see how you'd think that my response was juvenille.
Mama mia! Glad I don't eat that stuff.
Don't fire till you see the whites of their eggs!
I think that was a few years ago. Society might have changed a smidge since then.
There are 70 million gun owners in this country. If only 1 in 100 fight that's well over half a million people.
Society hasn't changed as much as you think.
Yes you can. In some ways an egg is worse then a small rock because it breaks and smears when it hits your windshield blinding the driver.
If you blind a driver you have indeed put him in peril.
There are some times when this is done deliberately in order to cause a crash in order to rob the occupants of the vehicle.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.