Just what is the meaning of intent?
Just what is the meaning of intent?
Written by R. A. Stewart
In the United States a person can be sent to prison for the rest of their life for a murder they did not
commit
and for a death that had no intent involved.
How?
In many states any person who is involved in a crime which leads to a person’s death can be charged with
first degree murder.
Whether they had anything to do with the death or not it does not matter. Just being a party to the crime
makes them equally guilty of murder as the one who committed the actual murder.
It all boils down to who's responsible for the fatality and whether the actions of another contributed to
another person’s death.
This is called the “Felony rule.”
You do not even have to be responsible for the person’s death to be responsible for their death; if you just
idly stood by and did nothing while others attacked and killed someone then your inaction caused another
person’s death and therefore it means you are partly responsible for the fatality.
The injustice of the felony rule is that there are individuals in American prisons who are serving life
without parole sentences because of the felony rule.
Jennifer Mee from Florida is one of these.
Let’s get something clear, however, Jennifer was not an innocent bystander. As a nineteen year old in 2010
she arranged a date with a young man she contacted on Facebook with the intention of robbing him. Two
male friends of Jennifer carried out the mugging; this had a fatal outcome when Jennifer’s date was shot.
There was NO INTENT in the death and nothing in the trial of the trio suggests otherwise.
All three received life without parole sentences. It is the harsh sentence which Jennifer’s supporters
(myself included) believe is out of proportion to the facts.
Namely, the lack of intent or premeditation in the death.
Intent or Premeditation are the two factors missing from this tragedy.
Jennifer needs your help
I am seeking signatures for a petition to have Jennifer’s case reviewed due to the circumstances of her case.
We believe that her sentence of life without parole is out of proportion to her part in the crime when there
was absolutely no intent involved in the fatality.
How can you help?
By signing the petitions below
Please share this page everywhere.
This is for Jennifer https://chng.it/6WSrwbGh
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