this girl i know just got shot and died... what happened was her 16 year old cousin gave a gun that had a bullet in it to her 3 year old cousin. the 3 year old shot her in her face and she became brain dead should the 16 year old or the 3 year old go to jail and for what?murder or possesion or firearm or both?
2006-12-09 07:20:39 · 15 answers · asked by {BUBBLICIOUSZ}♥MUAH! 3 in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
Here's how it will probably go: The 3 year old will probably not get in trouble with the law because he or she will be found to not have the mental capacity to know right from wrong. The 16 year old may or may not be charged depending on whether or not the court can prove whether the 16 year old knows right from wrong. The owner of the gun will most likely be charged with manslaughter for not securing the firearm and endangering a minor whether they knew what was happening or not. The three year old may be removed from the house by child protective services- even if it's just temporary.
The charges, if filed, will probably be manslaughter or second degree murder. They are lesser charges that first degree murder because murder in the first require premeditative thought which doesn't seem to be present here because it sounds like a horrible accident. A fire arm charge will probably be put on the owner of the gun and the 16 year old.
It's a very sad thing to hear.
2006-12-09 07:33:37 · answer #1 · answered by CAITLIN 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First off, I'm sorry to hear about this girl. That is always a terrible tragedy and a big loss when someone dies, especially like this.
As to your question, the three year old will not go to jail, and won't be held responsible for his/her actions. Society and the law recognizes that individuals need a certain level of "capacity" to commit crimes. This capacity means an understanding of his/her actions and the consequences of the actions. In the case of small children, or those with severe mental disabilities, there cannot be that understanding, so there cannot be a crime committed by them.
As for the 16 year old, the situation would probably be different. A teenager knows that loaded guns are dangerous, and also that it wouldn't be safe for a three year old to have one. Although it's difficult to say for certain based on the short set of facts you wrote, the 16 year old wouldn't be charged with murder. Murder requires that a person intended for someone else to be killed. In this case, it sounds like an accident. There could be a charge of possession of a firearm (whose was it anyway? how did the 16 year old get it?), and there also might be a charge of involuntary manslaughter. This is called criminally negligent homicide, where the recklessness of someone causes the death of someone else. When someone knows the dangers of a particular situation and disregards them, they are being reckless. As the 16 year old is still not yet an adult, the charges and sentencing for such a thing if he/she is found guilty will be less than for an adult. So, there may or may not be jail time involved, and most likely not prison, but a juvenile facility.
2006-12-09 15:46:54 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like you know nothing about the law. There is NO way that a three year old child can be held responsible for this incident. A child of this young age knows nothing about the dangers of a gun and is in NO way responsible for the shooting. Where the hell were the parents?!? A sixteen year old child knows right from wrong and should never have given the child a gun in the first place ~ it is not a toy! The sixteen year old could face a involuntary manslaughter charge and be tried as an adult. (Depending on what state you live in.) or the parents of the sixteen year old may be the ones held responsible. More than likely the sixteen year old will be sent to a juvenile detention center until his 18th or 21st birthday.
2006-12-09 16:15:50 · answer #3 · answered by burnettebreeze98 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
is this a serious question?
if it is, its very sad.
the 3 year old would have no concept of what would happen if he/she were to pull the trigger. the 3 year old would think it was a toy.
where on earth did a 16 year old get a gun in the first place?
this 16 year old will obviously do some time in a juvenille center, and will be forced to tell police where they obtained the gun, so that whoever he got the gun from will be charged as well.
2006-12-09 15:30:53 · answer #4 · answered by He moonwalked on my <3 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a three year old is too young to understand what a gun can even do. She probably only thinks they go bang. The 16 YO knows that the gun can kill. Maybe she didn't know t was loaded, maybe she did. The gun owner should have had it locked up and th ebullets locked up somewhwere else. So really the owner should go to jail, and the 16 to juvi. both for child endangerment. at 16 she should be able to understand the implications of what a gun can do.
2006-12-09 15:30:06 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
her 16 year old cousin. It's irresponsible to give a 3 year old a gun!
2006-12-09 15:22:20 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
How can you blame a baby? The 16 year old should go to jail. What a shame.
2006-12-09 15:34:29 · answer #7 · answered by Cori 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the owner of the gun and the 16 yr old i feel SO sorry for the 3 yr old that he has morons like this to care for him
2006-12-09 15:29:49 · answer #8 · answered by theessenceofrose 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A three year old doesn't know what their doing, but a 16 year old does.
2006-12-09 15:22:27 · answer #9 · answered by tinamaries43 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Someone who would hand a 3 yr old a loaded weapon needs to have their head checked. That action endangered everyone. Someone that incapable of knowing right from wrong needs to be evaluated for mental defects.
2006-12-09 15:31:23 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋