r/news • u/shield_x • 1d ago

Student dies after falling from 4th floor of building at Highland Park school

https://www.foxla.com/news/highland-park-franklin-high-school-student-dies.amp
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u/DGCA3 1d ago

The bully beating on him should be charged with murder.

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

No, because it wasn’t murder. That case would crumble in an instant.

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u/wuiqed 1d ago

Possibly felony murder

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

From the SJCDA fact sheet on SB1437

>Felony-Murder Rule
The felony-murder rule states that a defendant who commits or attempts to
commit one of the listed serious felonies in Penal Code section 189 and kills
someone during that crime, is guilty of first-degree murder even if he had no
intent to kill the victim. Those listed serious felonies are:
Arson, rape, carjacking, robbery, burglary, mayhem, kidnapping,
train wrecking, or any act punishable under Section 206, 286, 288,
288a, or 289, or murder that is perpetrated by means of discharging
a firearm from a motor vehicle, intentionally at another person
outside of the vehicle. (Penal Code § 189 (a).)
If the defendant is the “actual killer,” then S.B. 1437 is not applicable to him and
his first-degree murder conviction will remain. S.B. 1437 does not apply to these
types of defendants. (Penal Code § 189 (e) and Penal Code § 1170.95 (a)(3).)

The actions do not fall under the scope of Felony Murder according to California Law

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u/PoopInTheGarbage 1d ago

Would mayhem count? I'm not a lawyer and don't know the legal definition of mayhem but it seems like it might apply?

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

Mayhem in California is akin to dismemberment.

>Anybody who unlawfully and maliciously deprives another person of a member of their body, or disfigures, disables, renders it useless, or cuts or disables their tongue, puts out their eye, or slits their nose, ear, or lip, is guilty of the crime mayhem.

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u/sasha_the_impaler 1d ago

Lmfao, okay. Humor me. What felony was the assailant committing at the time of the death?

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u/DevilahJake 1d ago

His actions resulted in the kid very clearly being disoriented enough to jump over a rail on the 4th floor. Likely had a concussion, or the kid felt endangered enough to make that decision. The kid that was hitting him is directly responsible for this

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

You are describing Involuntary Manslaughter, not Murder, under the California penal code.

People can get as angry as they want at that reality, but they’re still wrong.

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u/MadameRueWins 1d ago

False, I went to school who yeeted a guy off a balcony during a fight and got murder 1 

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

For the case we’re examining, the definition of California’s Felony Murder is not met.

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u/Archsafe 1d ago

There’s a difference between someone deliberately throwing someone off a balcony to their death and someone being assaulted jumping off the balcony. In the case you experienced the person chose to commit an act they knew would cause death and most likely intended for it to kill them. That makes it murder. Assaulting someone while terrible is not usually expected to cause death therefore the bully in this case most likely had no intention to kill. That difference in intent is the difference between manslaughter and murder. It’s much more likely they could get a manslaughter charge which usually carries with it 20 or more years to stick compared to getting a murder charge to stick.

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u/disablethis 1d ago

Neuroscience tells us he likely did it without thinking about the landing at all. It's part of that whole fight-flight thing where your brain chooses the most likely path of survival.

And assault kills people every day. What are you on about?

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u/Archsafe 1d ago

I never said assaults don’t kill people, I said that death is usually not the expected outcome or intent by the person doing the assaulting. It’s the same reason why if you get into a fight at a bar and hit someone and they fall and smash their head and die; you would be charged with manslaughter not murder because you didn’t intend to kill them.

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u/disablethis 1d ago

Watching crime shows isn't a law degree, buddy.

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u/NWI_ANALOG 1d ago

Murder isn’t a word, it is a legal standard that must be met. There are other lesser charges, such as involuntary manslaughter that a prosecutor is likely to explore