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Effete Snob

(8,387 posts)
8. "Motive" is not an element of any crime charged
Fri Apr 9, 2021, 09:44 AM
Apr 2021

These are the charges against Chauvin:

Second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

In Minnesota, these are the definitions of those crimes:

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609

609.19 Unintentional murders.

Whoever does either of the following is guilty of unintentional murder in the second degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 40 years:

(1) causes the death of a human being, without intent to effect the death of any person, while committing or attempting to commit a felony offense other than criminal sexual conduct in the first or second degree with force or violence or a drive-by shooting


Section (2) involves protective orders and is not relevant.

609.195 MURDER IN THE THIRD DEGREE.

(a) Whoever, without intent to effect the death of any person, causes the death of another by perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, is guilty of murder in the third degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 25 years.

Section (2) involves drugs and is not relevant.


609.205 MANSLAUGHTER IN THE SECOND DEGREE.


A person who causes the death of another by any of the following means is guilty of manslaughter in the second degree and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than ten years or to payment of a fine of not more than $20,000, or both:

(1) by the person's culpable negligence whereby the person creates an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing death or great bodily harm to another


None of these offense requires a "motive", nor do they require a specific intent to kill anyone.

In general, criminal laws are directed to behavior, coupled with varying sorts of intent to effect an outcome. For example, if you threaten someone with an intent to induce them to give you money, you commit extortion. "Why" you want the money or "why" you chose that victim are not relevant. If you have some particular animus, that might be circumstantial evidence that you committed the act in question, but we don't lock people up for what they think, we lock people up for what they do.

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