STORY: "Lacey Spears trial: What's depraved indifference" by reporter Lee Higgins, published by Lohud on February 27, 2015.
SUB-HEADING: "Jurors continues Friday afternoon to weigh the fate of Lacey Spears, who is charged with second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter."
GIST: "Jurors
weighing the fate of Lacey Spears, the former Chestnut Ridge woman
accused of poisoning her 5-year-old son Garnett to death with salt,
asked the judge Friday afternoon to read them the definition of
"depraved indifference." The term is an element of the
second-degree murder charge Spears faces, and the question could
indicate they are weighing that versus first-degree manslaughter. The jury ultimately did not reach a verdict after more than a day of work. They will resume deliberations at 9:30 a.m. Monday..........The question about depraved indifference came at about 3:30 p.m. Friday. Here is the definition they were seeking. "A
person has a depraved indifference to human life when that person has
an utter disregard for the value of human life – a willingness to act,
not because he or she means to cause grievous harm to the person who is
killed but because he or she simply does not care whether or not
grievous harm will result," according to New York's penal law resources
used by judges to instruct juries. "In other words, a person who is
depravedly indifferent is not just willing to take a grossly
unreasonable risk to human life – that person does not care how the risk
turns out. Depraved indifference to human life reflects a wicked, evil
or inhuman state of mind as manifested by brutal, heinous and despicable
acts."It adds, "A person acts with a depraved indifference to
human life when, having a conscious objective not to kill but to harm,
he or she engages in torture or a brutal, prolonged and ultimately fatal
course of conduct against a particularly vulnerable victim.""
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2015/02/27/lacey-spears-trial-jurors-review-video-clips/24131427/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I
have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
The
Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible
years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr.
Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of
Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"
section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It
can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
