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Criminal Law keyed to Dripps
United States v. Paul
Citation:
37 F.3d 496.Facts
On July 18, 1992, Darlene Paul returned to the home she shared with defendant on the Gila River Indian Reservation. The defendant claimed his wife had returned at 1:00 a.m. drunk and would not tell him where their 2.5 year old son was. An argument ensued which led to a physical altercation. During the fight, the defendant strangled Darlene and banged her head against the ground. The defendant believed he had killed her, so he took a shower, changed clothes, and went to his mother’s instructing her to call the police to pick him up. An officer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs arrived and the defendant told him he thought he killed his wife. The officer put the defendant in handcuffs and the two drove to the defendant’s home where the officer found Darlene dead.
During trial, the judge provided the jury with the Ninth Circuit Model Jury instructions on the lesser included offenses of manslaughter instructing the jury as follows:
“Voluntary Manslaughter:
. . . [T]he government must prove each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, the defendant killed Darlene Paul;
Second, the defendant acted in the heat of passion;Third, heat of passion was caused by adequate provocation.
Heat of passion may be provoked by fear, rage, anger, or terror. Provocation, in order to be adequate, must be such as might naturally cause a reasonable person in the passion of the moment to lose self-control and act on impulse and without reflection. . . .
Involuntary Manslaughter:
. . . [T]he government must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, Darlene Paul was killed as a result of an act by the defendant;
Second, in the circumstances existing at the time, the defendant’s act either was by its nature dangerous to human life or was done with reckless disregard for human life;
Third, the defendant either knew that such conduct was a threat to the lives of others or knew of circumstances that would reasonably cause the defendant to foresee that such conduct might be a threat to the lives of others. . . .”
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Voluntary Manslaughter Involuntary Manslaughter Elements of a Crime: Mens Rea