Criminal Law Keyed to Dressler
Regina v. Cunningham
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The Defendant was engaged to be married. Defendant’s prospective in-laws lived next door to Defendant and his fiancee. The two homes used to be one, but in the basement, a wall had been erected to divide the cellars of the two homes. The Defendant became short of money and tore the gas meter off the wall to obtain money. Even though there was a stop tap within two feet of the meter, the Defendant did not turn off the gas. Subsequently, the gas seeped through the basement wall and partially asphyxiated Mrs. Wade, Defendant’s prospective mother in law. The Defendant was charged with unlawfully and maliciously administering to or causing to be administered to or taken by any other person any poison or other destructive or noxious thing, so as to endanger the life of such person or inflict bodily harm. The judge charged the jury that “malicious” is defined as wicked. The Defendant was convicted, and he thereafter initiated this appeal, averring that the judge’s instruction was inc orrect.
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15m 13s