Jump to content
Trumplestiltskin

Felony murder: why a teenager who didn't kill anyone faces 55 years in jail

 Share

6 posts in this topic

Recommended Posts

Filed: Other Country: United Kingdom
Timeline

Frankly, this beggars belief. Not quite as bad as trying to medicate insane people to make them sane enough to execute, but definitely up there.

Blake Layman made one very bad decision. He was 16, an unexceptional teenager growing up in a small Indiana town. Hed never been in trouble with the law, had a clean criminal record, had never owned or even held a gun.

That decision sparked a chain of events that would culminate with his arrest and trial for felony murder. The boy was unarmed, had pulled no trigger, killed no one. He was himself shot and injured in the incident while his friend standing beside him was also shot and killed. Yet Layman would go on to be found guilty by a jury of his peers and sentenced to 55 years in a maximum-security prison for a shooting that he did not carry out.

How Blake Layman got to be in the Kafkaesque position in which he now finds himself facing the prospect of spending most of the rest of his life in a prison cell for a murder that he did not commit is the subject on Thursday of a special hearing of the Indiana supreme court, the states highest judicial panel. How the judges respond to the case of what has become known as the Elkhart Four could have implications for the application of so-called felony murder laws in Indiana and states across the union.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/feb/26/felony-murder-teenager-55-years-jail-indiana?CMP=fb_gu

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is pretty screwed up that the kid is being charged with felony murder. From what the article says, the law is not being interpreted properly.

In Indiana the wording of the felony murder law is more nuanced than those of the other 11 states. It says that a “person who kills another human being while committing or attempting to commit … burglary … commits murder, a felony.”

Cara and Joel Wieneke, the legal duo who represent Layman, said that at the heart of the argument they will be presenting to the supreme court is the issue of agency. “The plain language of the statute requires the defendant or one of his accomplices to do the killing. In Blake’s case neither he nor any of his co-perpetrators killed anybody – this was a justified killing by the person who was protecting his home,” Joel Wieneke told the Guardian.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The felony murder rule results in some really bizarre outcomes where there's accomplice liability. You'll be happy to know England and Wales did away with it some time back.

Edited by Barack 0bola

larissa-lima-says-who-is-against-the-que

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Colombia
Timeline

I'm sure they will correct the "oops" in this law that let it be used in this way.. The kid will serve a few years and be released and go back to his normal productive routine.

I don't believe it.. Prove it to me and I still won't believe it. -Ford Prefect

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Ukraine
Timeline

This is a case of an overzealous prosecutor. Now if the homeowner ended up dead…then not to many people would have much sympathy for the kid. I know i wouldn't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
- Back to Top -

Important Disclaimer: Please read carefully the Visajourney.com Terms of Service. If you do not agree to the Terms of Service you should not access or view any page (including this page) on VisaJourney.com. Answers and comments provided on Visajourney.com Forums are general information, and are not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. Visajourney.com does not endorse, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned or any opinion expressed in answers or comments. VisaJourney.com does not condone immigration fraud in any way, shape or manner. VisaJourney.com recommends that if any member or user knows directly of someone involved in fraudulent or illegal activity, that they report such activity directly to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. You can contact ICE via email at Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov or you can telephone ICE at 1-866-347-2423. All reported threads/posts containing reference to immigration fraud or illegal activities will be removed from this board. If you feel that you have found inappropriate content, please let us know by contacting us here with a url link to that content. Thank you.
×
×
  • Create New...