LE has already determined that it was multiple crimes. Crimes that he has been charged for. Criminal intent is not required in these charges. I have NEVER said I think there was criminal intent. Instead I've said the opposite, that he was negligent. Forgetting a child in a car, resulting in death is the literal definition of negligence. Whether it fits the criminal definition wherever it happens, is up to LE.
What I wish, is that this would stop happening.
LE has charged him with:
1. Manslaughter (2nd degree I believe) -
New York Consolidated Laws, Penal Law - PEN § 125.15 | FindLaw
In order to find a person guilty of second degree manslaughter, they have to find that the person's behavior was criminally reckless. An example would be:
Defendant Jose Maldonado stole a minivan. He then traveled at high speeds, ran through red lights, and broke other traffic laws in an effort to flee from police. Ultimately he hit and killed a pedestrian. Maldonado was initially convicted of murder in the second degree based on depraved indifference. However, his conviction was later reduced to manslaughter in the second degree. The court found that Maldonado did not have the requisite intent for a murder conviction. Finding that Maldonado's actions were not intentional but reckless, the court reduced his conviction to manslaughter in the second degree.
People v. Maldonado, 2014 NY Slip Op 4878 (N.Y., 2014)
A defense?
Defenses
If you are charged with manslaughter in the second degree based on reckless behavior, then a defense to the charge would be that your actions were not reckless as defined by the statute. For example,
if you can show that the death occurred as a result of an accident where no recklessness was involved, then you may have a valid defense to a manslaughter in the second charge.
NY Penal Law § 125.15: Manslaughter in the second degree
2. Criminally negligent homicide -
A person is guilty of criminally negligent homicide when, with
criminal negligence, he causes the death of another person. Criminally negligent homicide is a class E felony.
Article 125 | NYS Penal Law | Homicide Manslaughter Abortion
Examples:
If you have ever driven your car while texting or talking on the phone, you have walked very
close to having a catastrophic accident and the potential for being charged with Criminally Negligent Homicide.
Other instances of
Criminally Negligent Homicide occur in situations involving children who die as a result of a parent’s neglect, or circumstances where a reasonable person would recognize the danger to the victim. Killings caused by this are unintentional, and are the result of criminal negligence, or recklessness.
Criminally Negligent Homicide - NY Criminal Defense
Sentencing depends in part on whether there were mitigating factors. (See above link)
3. Endangering the welfare of a child -
Section 260.10Endangering the welfare of a child
A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a child when:
1. He or she knowingly acts in a manner likely to be injurious to the physical, mental or moral welfare of a child less than seventeen years old or directs or authorizes such child to engage in an occupation involving a substantial risk of danger to his or her life or health; or
2. Being a parent, guardian or other person legally charged with the care or custody of a child less than eighteen years old, he or she fails or refuses to exercise reasonable diligence in the control of such child to prevent him or her from becoming an "abused child," a "neglected child," a "juvenile delinquent" or a "person in need of supervision," as those terms are defined in articles ten, three and seven of the family court act.
Example: Purposefully leaving your kid alone or outside for a certain reason.
Endangering the Welfare of a Child
Definitions:
"Recklessly." A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or
to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is
aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk
that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The risk
must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a
gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person
would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is
unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts
recklessly with respect thereto.
"Criminal negligence." A person acts with criminal negligence with
respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining
an offense when he fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable
risk that such result will occur or that such circumstance exists. The
risk must be of such nature and degree that the failure to perceive it
constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a
reasonable person would observe in the situation.
"Knowingly." A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to
a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is
aware that his conduct is of such nature or that such circumstance
exists.
Article 15 New York State Penal Law - Culpability | NY Laws
I'm thinking that the state won;t be able to sustain the manslaughter charge in this case because it appears he wasn't aware of what he was doing and consciously disregarded the risk. I also suspect that they won't be able to sustain child endangerment because he didn't knowingly leave his kid in a hot car, which people sometimes do. Not to kill them but because they're idiots or on something.
To me, the criminally negligent homicide charge is the one that could stick. I predict a lot of mitigating factors being at play, which our justice system allows for and possibly no time, just probation, or not much time.
However, he will lose his job with such a conviction and the family will likely devolve into poverty as a result.
