Quote:
Originally Posted by Zevo
If I was busted with, lets say, 5 ounces of cocaine, I would be charged with trafficking or intent to traffic or something along those lines. Even with no no proof that I was selling the stuff, I would be charged with something to do with trafficking. They don't need direct evidence that you are actually dealing.
She didn't report her child missing for a month and partied like it was 1999 for god sakes. To me, that is proof enough that she had something to do with her childs death. Tough to prove first degree murder but at the very least she should have gotten manslaugter. Jury fataed this one up.
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You're talking about two incredibly different crimes as if they are the same thing. Possession and possession with intent to distribute (or whatever they're codified as in a given jurisdiction) is a strict liability offense. You have cocaine in your possession, you are guilty of possession. You have an amount over the prescribed limit, you are guilty of the intent ot distribute crime. There's no need to prove a mental element. Prove the possession and you're done.
Homicide crimes are completely different. You need to prove the action and the mental state, with the degree of intent varying depending upon the degree of homicide crime charged. First degree was never going to apply here, there was absolutely no evidence of premeditation. When you can't even prove a cause of death proving that the accused planned to cause the death is always going to be a massive longshot. The manslaughter charge required showing that the accused was at a minimum the cause of the death, and quite frankly there wasn't anythign that pointed to that. There was circumstantial evidence of bizarre behavior, but nothing that exceeds the beyond a reasonable doubt level. There was an equal amount of concrete evidence to support the claim that girl drowned and the father covered it up, that amount being next to nothing.
Blaming the jury is such garbage. These are people tasked with an incredibly difficult responsibility, pointing the finger at them after they suffered through weeks of brutal testimony and hours upon hours of conflicting and confusing evidence because you read some stories and watched the news is beyond ridiculous.