Jimmy Jones Case Study

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1a. Bobby Smith’s charges
Bobby Smith should be charged with robbery and involuntary manslaughter for his theft, threat of serious bodily injury, and reckless actions leading to the death of the store clerk.
Robbery is defined as being theft of personal property in circumstances that involve either the infliction of serious bodily injury or the threat of such injury. In this case, Bobby threatened the store clerk with bodily injury, as he indicated that the water gun was filled with acid and the store clerk would be sprayed if he did not comply. For this charge, it is rather conspicuous that the prosecutor would be able to prove this, if provided the tangible evidence of the gun as well as evidence of the threat, either via surveillance footage …show more content…

Jimmy Jones’ charges
Jimmy Jones could be charged as an accomplice in the death of the store clerk, as well as larceny.
Jimmy Jones could be charged as Bobby Smith’s accomplice in the death of the store clerk, as he assisted the principal during the commission of the crime, where the crime in question is the robbery. That being said, the prosecutor may encounter difficulties applying this charge to Jimmy, as he was unaware of Bobby’s possession of the water gun that inevitably led to the death of the store clerk. The prosecutor could advocate that the death of the store clerk occurred from the fight or flight response to the robbery itself, but the store clerk did not exhibit symptoms of a heart attack until after Bobby’s threat with the gun. Additionally, in order to convict Jimmy, the prosecutor must prove mens rea, providing evidence that Jimmy had a guilty mindset at the time of the crime. This is difficult to validate, as Jimmy stayed with the store clerk, called 911 and turned himself in. Thus, the accomplice charge might be difficult to …show more content…

If the person was able to discern that the action was wrong but unable to stop themselves, they are to be found sane under the M’Naghten Rule. In order to decide if the M’Naghten Rule would define Emmanuel as sane or insane, it is essential to consider aspects that deem Emmanuel’s ability to discern right from wrong. Initially, it is reported that Emmanuel bludgeoned Sam as a result of becoming angry and confused, though at what is not stated. Before leaving the house, Emmanuel disposes of the evidence by placing the golf club and bloody clothes in a bathtub and submerging them in water. This is the first aspect that lends evidence that Emmanuel was able to see his behavior as wrong, and thus work to cover them up. Moreover, following the event when asked by others about the state of Sam, Emmanuel replies initially after the bludgeoning that he believes Sam is sleeping, and a day later tells the police that he killed Sam, but Sam would be back tomorrow. This lends suspicion that Emmanuel does not understand the repercussion of his actions, as if it is just a dream, and reality will resume later. Lastly, after weeks had gone by and Emmanuel’s medication had re-leveled the chemical balance in his brain, Emmanuel reflects on the events with tremendous guilt and grief.

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