Henderson v. Kibbe

Facts

Kibbe and his co-defendant encountered a drunk man, Stafford, in a bar in Rochester, New York. After seeing that he had at least two $100 bills, they decided to rob him and agreed to drive him to a nearby town. While in the car, Kibbe slapped Stafford several times, took his money, and forced Stafford to lower his pants and remove his boots to search for any concealed funds. They then abandoned Stafford on an unlit, rural road, partially naked and without his coat or glasses.

The temperature was near zero, and visibility was obscured by the snow. Stafford was struck by a speeding pickup truck. The driver testified that he was driving fifty miles per hour in a forty mile zone, and two approaching cars flashed its light – presumably as a warning, which the driver did not understand. The driver did not swerve or break his truck before it hit Stafford. Stafford was pronounced dead upon arrival at the local hospital.

Kibbe and his accomplice were convicted of grand larceny, robbery, and second-degree murder under New York law. Neither party requested that the jury be instructed on the meaning of the statutory requirement that the defendant’s conduct must “thereby cause the death of another person,” and no such instruction was given. Kibbe challenged his conviction for murder, arguing that it was the negligence of the truckdriver, rather than Kibbe’s actions, that caused Stafford’s death, and that Kibbe could not have anticipated the fatal accident.

The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court affirmed his conviction. The New York Court of Appeals also affirmed. Kibbe then filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, but was denied. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed, and granted his writ due to the trial court’s failure to instruct the jury on an essential element as complex as the causation issue in this case. He is now in the Supreme Court of the United States.