Johnson's Plea to Guilty 1st-degree Murder - Essay Example

Running head: Murder 25-year-old Juan R. Johnson, a Chambersburg man charged with criminal homicide, pleaded guilty in Franklin County Court to first-degree murder. General case background Juan R. Johnson, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty of shooting 24-year-old Gregory Jermaine Street. The shooting took place on the afternoon of February 1, 2008. Johnson shot Street three times in the back of the head as Street sat in the passenger seat of a 2004 Ford Excursion parked on East Washington Street. The Excursion belonged to Street’s girlfriend, Shelby Flythe, who testified in July at Johnsons preliminary hearing that she and Street had picked up Johnson at a bar earlier in the day and the three made several stops before going to her East Washington Street home where she wanted to use the bathroom. She also testified that Johnson was sitting in the back seat when she stopped at her home and that while she was in the house she heard gunshots. After the shooting, she testified that she saw her vehicle being driven away. Another witness testified to hearing the shots and seeing Johnson next to the vehicle with Street slumped over in the passengers seat with smoke coming from a head wound. The witness also testified that Johnson got into the driver’s seat and drove away. Street’s body was found on the morning of Feb. 2 in Harrisburg, Pa., still in the passenger seat of the 2004 Ford Excursion. Assistant District Attorney Jeremiah Zook said that police found no guns connected to the shooting. Johnson remained at large until March 6, when he was captured in the Philadelphia area and was brought back to Chambersburg to face charges that he shot Street several times in the head. He was charged with first-degree murder, to which he pleaded guilty before Judge Richard Walsh. Johnson stated at the time of the plea agreement that he and Street had a disagreement about money and Street had first pulled a gun on him. He said that as a car passed by and Street looked away, he shot him three times in the back of the head in self-defense. In August, the District Attorney’s Office filed a notice of aggravating circumstances in the case. This is a legal requirement for one to seek the death penalty in Pennsylvania and one has to be convicted of a first-degree murder, followed by a phase of penalty in a trial, under state law. By entering his plea, Johnson had avoided the possibility of the death penalty had he gone to trial but the plea guarantees him a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Chambersburg Police Department also charged him with robbery and theft in the death of Street. According to Assistant District Attorney Jeremiah Zook, these charges were to be dismissed as part of the plea agreement (German, 2009). Actus reus It is the act, which, in combination with a certain mental state (mens rea), constitutes a crime. It is simply an act accompanied by specified circumstances and an essential element of a crime that must be proved to secure a conviction. The actus reus of this event involved the shooting and killing of Gregory Street. It is important to note that Johnson could not be punished for thinking criminal thoughts but for voluntarily acting upon those ideas. Mens rea This refers to the mental intention or the defendants state of mind at the time of the offense. It is the mental component of criminal liability, which is a necessary component in order to prove that a criminal act has been committed. The mens rea of this event was Johnson’s intent to shoot and kill Gregory Street. Before conviction, the prosecution must prove not only that the accused committed the offence but also that the act was voluntary or purposeful. Public Defender Michael Toms said that he would ask for a psychiatric examination of Juan R. Johnson. For criminal liability to occur, mens rea and actus reus must occur at the same time, a phenomenon called concurrence. The criminal intent must precede or coexist with the criminal act, or in some way activate the act. Johnson’s act was overt and voluntary. Causation is the underlying relationship between conduct and result. Where establishing causation is required to establish legal liability, a two-stage inquiry is involved: establishing factual causation and establishing legal causation. To establish factual causation, we use but-for test, which inquires whether the harm would have occurred, but for the defendant’s act. In this case we ask, “But for Johnson’s act, would Gregory Street have died?” The answer is ‘No.’ so we conclude that Johnson caused the death of Street. In legal causation, we establish whether in a chain of events the original actor is liable for all the consequences flowing naturally from the initial circumstances. In this case, Johnson is liable for all the consequences since no new intervening act breaks the chain. Walsh sentenced Johnson to life imprisonment without possibility of parole, the mandatory sentence for first-degree murder. The judge also ordered him to pay $11,190.13 in restitution to Street’s family and insurers. Defense attorney Gregory Abeln requested Walsh to recommend that the Department of Corrections assign Johnson to a state prison in the Philadelphia area, where his family lives (Aines, 2009). Colorado Revised Statutes analysis In title 18 of the Criminal Code, Colorado Revised Statutes, the statute for first degree murder, which includes the felony first degree murder provision, states: a person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if…(a) acting either alone or with one or more persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault…or the crime of escape as provided in section 18.8.208, and, in the course of or in furtherance of the crime that he or she is committing or attempting to commit, or of immediate flight therefrom, the death of a person other than one of the participants, is caused by anyone. Juan R. Johnson therefore committed a first-degree murder which is a class 1 felony; § 18.3.102(3), C.R.S. 2004, and carries a minimum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and a maximum sentence of death. By pleading guilty, Johnson avoided the possibility of receiving the death penalty. He would therefore receive the minimum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Section 18.4.301 of Colorado Revised Statutes states that any person who knowingly takes anything of value from a person or presence of another by the use of force, threats, or intimidation commits robbery. Johnson is therefore guilty of robbery as he took Shelby Flythe’s 2004 Ford Excursion in which he fled after shooting Street. This is a class 4 felony, whose penalty is imprisonment for two to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. According to Section 18.1.901 of the Colorado Revised Statutes, a “deadly weapon” is any of the following which in the manner it is used or intended to be used is capable of producing death or serious bodily injury: (I) a firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; (II) a knife; (III) a bludgeon; or (IV) any other weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, whether animate or inanimate. A person who knowingly possesses a dangerous weapon commits a class 5 felony as provided in section 18.12.102(3). Juan R. Johnson would be charged with illegal possession of firearm with which he shot Gregory Street. In this case, the jury or court may choose to imprison him for one to 10 years or jail them for up to 12 months and a fine of up to $2,500, either or both. A person commits the crime of manslaughter if such a person recklessly causes the death of another person or intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide, as provided in Section 18-3-104 (1) of Colorado Revised Statutes. Johnson committed the crime of manslaughter by killing Street recklessly and intentionally. This is a class 4 felony, which carries a penalty of imprisonment for two to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. Section 18.4.512 of the Colorado Revised Statutes states that any person who abandons any motor vehicle upon a street, highway, right-of-way, or any other public property, or upon any private property without the express consent of the owner or person in lawful charge of that private property commits abandonment of a motor vehicle. To "abandon" means to leave a thing with the intention not to retain possession of or assert ownership over it. The intent need not coincide with the act of leaving. Johnson abandoned Shelby Flythe’s vehicle at Harrisburg. This is a class 3 misdemeanor, which carries a maximum fine of $500. According to section 18.4.409(2) of Colorado Revised Statutes, a person commits aggravated motor vehicle theft in the first degree if he or she knowingly obtains or exercises control over the motor vehicle of another without authorization or by threat or deception. Juan R. Johnson departed in Shelby Flythe’s 2004 Ford Excursion, which he later abandoned at Harrisburg with Street’s body in it. Aggravated motor vehicle theft in the first degree is a class 4 felony, punishable by imprisonment for two to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000. Conclusion Though most people suggest death penalty for Juan R. Johnson, it is important to note that a notice of aggravating circumstances that are necessary for one to seek the death penalty must be filed prior to the defendants mandatory arraignment (Aines, 2009). In addition, since Johnson pleaded guilty, he cannot face death penalty. Instead, he has to face a mandatory sentence of life incarceration without the possibility of parole since he is a first-degree murder convict. References Aines, D. (2009). Johnson pleads guilty to 1st-degree murder. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.herald-mail.com/?story_id=214553&cmd=displaystory Colorado Revised Statute. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.michie.com/colorado/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp= Franklin County forum, (2009). Preliminary hearing today for man charged in shooting was postponed. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.topix.com/forum/county/franklin-oh/T31CNTEO2LFJI4N3M German, K. (2009). Man sentenced for 2008 murder. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.whptv.com/mostpopular/story/Man-sentenced-for-2008-murder/dIqDt2WIeUOiA66j-5kI_w.cspx Waynesboro Record Herald, (2008). Warrant alleges Juan Johnson murdered Chambersburg man. Retrieved March 3, 2009, from http://www.therecordherald.com/archive/x1925680789 Read More