http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/archives/1523 A Rare Bird, A Strange Duck, One Funky Blog Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:25:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/archives/1523#comment-1047 alektra Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/wordpress/archives/1525#comment-1047 http://crime.about.com/od/issues/a/fetalhomicide.htm<br /><br />This gives a layperson's view of the change in the California court system of the charges for murder when a child in utero is involved. The woman was 8.75 months pregnant in this case (it was the first case I read in Criminal Law). <br /><br />Sad but true, Roe v. Wade wasn't the reason states didn't protect the unborn in these sorts of instances. It was just regular law. And the reason the courts didn't want to claim this was murder was worry over organ donor issues, which was hot at the time. Sad, strange, and I'm just glad they changed the rules on this one.<br /><br />As for Conner, if Peterson had admitted to wanting to kill Laci, Conner would have been killed through the "depraved heart" statute and would have been 2nd degree murder, at least. But since he did not testify to his intentions to kill, the jury could only speculate that Peterson wanted Conner not to be born. After all, if he was going to kill Laci, he could have done it at another time. (This is studying for me, oddly enough.)<br /><br />I just pray for the families. Both of them lost their children in one way or another and each lost their grandchild. http://crime.about.com/od/issues/a/fetalhomicide.htm

This gives a layperson's view of the change in the California court system of the charges for murder when a child in utero is involved. The woman was 8.75 months pregnant in this case (it was the first case I read in Criminal Law).

Sad but true, Roe v. Wade wasn't the reason states didn't protect the unborn in these sorts of instances. It was just regular law. And the reason the courts didn't want to claim this was murder was worry over organ donor issues, which was hot at the time. Sad, strange, and I'm just glad they changed the rules on this one.

As for Conner, if Peterson had admitted to wanting to kill Laci, Conner would have been killed through the "depraved heart" statute and would have been 2nd degree murder, at least. But since he did not testify to his intentions to kill, the jury could only speculate that Peterson wanted Conner not to be born. After all, if he was going to kill Laci, he could have done it at another time. (This is studying for me, oddly enough.)

I just pray for the families. Both of them lost their children in one way or another and each lost their grandchild.]]> http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/archives/1523#comment-1048 Jerry Nora Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/wordpress/archives/1525#comment-1048 The fetal-homicide bills of which I am aware specifically exclude abortion as grounds for fetal homicide. This would be a sort of application of many modern ideologies where personhood is more of a risk-benefit calculation (a la utilitarianism, such as Singer, or some feminist thinkers, like Judith Jarvis Thompson, who cooked up the violinist argument for abortion), rather than as somethign valuable unto itself (as Kantian or Judeo-Christian ethics would generally say). http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/archives/1523#comment-1049 h2 Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000 http://alesrarus.funkydung.com/wordpress/archives/1525#comment-1049 This definitely appears to be one of those judicial inconsistencies that could serve as a catalyst to push this debate back to the forefront-- unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to predict how the legal struggle would end. This could get interesting...