Exam 5: Criminal Homicide

Ben is the beneficiary of a $1,000,000 life insurance policy on his business partner Johnny.If Johnny dies unexpectedly under mysterious circumstances,Ben may become the prime suspect because he has a ____________ to wish Johnny dead.

If Jason knowingly places poison in Rebecca's coffee and she dies as a result,Jason has committed the crime of __________.

Brad comes home early from work.He discovers his wife Patricia in bed having sex with Ted,the pizza delivery boy.Enraged,Brad takes a pistol from the nightstand drawer and chases Ted down the street,shooting at him.The third shot hits Ted in the back.He dies immediately.Under Texas law,Brad has committed:

Which of the following is a necessary requirement for a criminal homicide in Texas?

An "individual" must be born and alive before he or she falls within the scope of coverage of the Texas criminal homicide statutes.

Under the traditional American System of Classification of criminal homicides,the most serious form of criminal homicide is ________ degree murder.

The owners of Bow-Wow Roofing Company knowingly permit their workers to roof homes without adhering to state and federal safety regulations.The owners believe the regulations slow down work and are bureaucratic nonsense.One day,Jose,an experienced roofer,falls from the second story roof of a house under construction and is killed.Investigation reveals that his death would not have occurred if he had been attached to a belay line as is required by federal safety regulations.In this case,the roofing company could be properly charged with committing criminally ________ homicide.

Under the American System of Classification of criminal homicide,a death which occurs during the commission of another inherently dangerous felony (i.e.,felony murder)is classified as a first degree murder.

Carlos has lost his job and his wife has left him.He is despondent and angry at the world.After drinking a bottle of tequila,Carlos obtains a rifle and goes to the local shopping mall.He begins shooting randomly at the shoppers.After ten shots he runs out of ammunition and is subdued by a security guard.Several persons have been injured by his gunshots but only one,a 50-year-old woman,dies from the wounds.Under Texas law,the most serious offense Carlos has committed:

Jurisdictions that use the American System of Classification of criminal homicide have established two or more degrees of murder,the differences being largely dependent on the brutality of the offender's conduct.

Motive is an element that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in every murder prosecution.

Under the American System of Classification of criminal homicide,if a purposeful killing is shown to have been committed under the influence of sudden rage of passion arising from adequate provocation,the killing would be classified as:

If irreversible cessation of an individual's spontaneous respiratory and circulatory functions occurs,the person is said to be clinically dead.

The primary difference between a homicide and a criminal homicide is the absence or presence of a ______ mental state.

Under the American System of Classification of criminal homicide,the offense of involuntary manslaughter is used to punish deaths caused by involuntary conduct.

Late one evening,Charlie is driving his automobile home from a New Year's Eve party.He is severely intoxicated.Charlie drives his car southbound onto the northbound lane of a divided highway.In less than a quarter of a mile,he strikes another vehicle head-on.The other driver is killed instantly.Police arrest Charlie at the scene.Under the American System of Classification of criminal homicide,Charlie has committed:

To convict an accused of criminally negligent homicide,the prosecution must establish that the accused acted in a wanton or reckless manner in causing the death.

Cain and Abel get into an argument.Cain strikes Abel in the head with a wooden board.Abel is knocked unconscious and languishes into a coma.Two years after his injury,Abel dies.The medical examiner determines that the blow to the head was the cause of death.Under Texas law,Cain has committed:

Under Texas law,a person is legally dead only when a magistrate formally declares them dead.

Deaths that are the direct result of violations of the traffic laws are normally prosecuted as violations of the criminally negligent homicide statute.