Exam 5: Criminal Homicide

Jack,an intoxicated driver,collides with an automobile driven by Mary,a pregnant female.Mary is not seriously injured but the collision causes her to abort the fetus.Under Texas law,in order to prosecute Jack for the death of the fetus,the prosecution will have to:

Under the Texas Penal Code,human life begins at the point of _____________.

Rocco is serving a 20-year sentence in the state prison.He decides to try to escape.He fashions a weapon from a scrap of metal and hides it in his boot.The next day while working on a lawn crew at the warden's home,Rocco makes a run for it.The correctional officer gives chase.Rudy,a passing citizen,notices the incident and joins the chase.Rudy tackles Rocco.In the ensuing scuffle Rocco pulls out the improvised weapon and stabs Rudy three times.A few seconds later the correctional officer subdues Rocco and returns him to custody.Rudy dies of the wounds.Under Texas law,the most serious offense Rocco has committed is:

When examining the traditional elements of the offense of murder,proof of the killer's motive would be considered to be part of the:

In the process of being arrested,Paul punches Officer Mike,a police officer,in the nose several times.In response,Officer Mike draws his pistol and shoots and kills Paul.Officer Mike has committed the offense of manslaughter.

All homicides are criminal acts.

Ernie has grown weary of the neighbor kid's cutting across his lawn on their way to and from school.He has told them several times to stay off his lawn but the kids have ignored his request.One afternoon Ernie decides to scare the children by shooting over their heads if they enter his yard.As a group of children steps onto his lawn,Ernie runs outside firing his rifle well over their heads.The children flee screaming.Unfortunately,one of the bullets ricochets off of a telephone pole and strikes Melody,a seven-year-old girl.Melody is killed instantly.The most serious offense,if any,Ernie has committed is:

Ramona is driving down the street in her car.She is also sending a text via her smartphone.Distracted by the texting,she fails to notice a stop sign at the intersection.She proceeds into the intersection without slowing.She strikes a pedestrian who has stepped off the curb to cross the street.Even though she is only traveling about 20 miles per hour,the collision knocks the pedestrian in the air.Upon landing on the street,the blow to the head kills the pedestrian.Under Texas law,the most serious offense,if any,Ramona has committed is:

In Texas,establishment of the motive for a killing may be an element that the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt in a trial for:

One January day,Rob kidnaps Suzy,a 12-year-old girl,intending to sexually assault her.He binds and gags her and hides her in an abandoned barn.He leaves her there overnight.Upon his return the next day,Rob discovers that Suzy has frozen to death due to the bitter weather.Under Texas law,Rob has committed:

____________ manslaughter is the term used in the traditional American System of Classification of criminal homicides to describe unlawful killings that do not fit within any other category

Ken's family lives in the suburbs.His backyard is a favorite dining spot for armadillos.One evening,upon spotting an armadillo in the yard,Ken grabs his deer rifle and begins shooting at the animal.None of the shots hits the animal but one stray bullet strikes and kills Larry who is mowing his lawn three blocks away.If a jury were to decide that Ken's use of the rifle under these circumstances was reckless behavior,Ken would properly be convicted of ___________ in the death of Larry.

Under Texas law,a person is considered to be legally dead when he or she meets the statutory standard of being:

Bud,a parcel deliveryman,parks his delivery truck on a sloping road.In order to deliver a package,he exits the truck,leaving the motor running.Because he is in a hurry,Bud fails to place the truck's transmission in "park" or set the parking brake.Bud enters a nearby building with the package.Meanwhile,the truck begins to move down the hill.It jumps the curb and strikes two children who are playing in the park.Both children are killed.As to the deaths of the children,the most serious offense Bud has committed is:

Under Texas law,any of the three forms of murder can be elevated to a charge of capital murder if one of the statutory aggravating circumstances exists.

Both mass murders and serial murders qualify as the offense of capital murder under Texas law.

Bob is out hunting on the first day of deer season.He has never been hunting before and is anxious to shoot a deer.Shortly after climbing into his deer stand,Bob hears a rustling in the woods.Figuring that it must be a deer,he fires his rifle in the direction of the sound.The noise stops.He climbs down from the stand to investigate and discovers not a dead deer but a dead person; he has mistakenly shot and killed another hunter! The most serious offense,if any,Bob has committed is:

Prosecutors often use motive to establish that a killing was intentional rather than accidental.

Corporations may be held criminally responsible for committing criminally negligent homicide if the company's failure to abide by worker safety regulations causes a death.

By using racially charged language,Jacob verbally provokes Cedric into engaging in a fist fight.When Cedric throws the first punch,Jacob draws a knife and stabs Cedric.Cedric dies.Jacob subsequently claims he was merely acting in self-defense but he has actually committed the form of criminal homicide known as ______________.