The statute requires some action to be taken and failure to do so becomes grounds for criminal liability based on crime of omission. The basis under which a person can be liable of crime of omission is if the person has a special relationship with the victim such as a parent to a minor. Another basis is under contract like for the case of doctor and a patient (Gray, 2016). For example, in 2014, Michelle Carter was 17 years old when, through a text, encouraged his boyfriend Conrad Roy III, who was 18 years old to commit suicide. In 2017, Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a juvenile court in Massachusetts. The conviction was unjust since Carter did not cause Roy’s death. Roy had a history of attempting to commit suicide and Carter had earlier advised him to seek professional help. Carter did not offer Roy means to kill himself neither did she participate in the suicide.
Crime of commission is a crime whereby a person acts when he/she is forbidden to act by the law. There are visible crimes, which are crimes that can be seen by the eye such as public order crimes, violent crimes, and property crimes. Victimless crimes are offences that are against morality such as selling drugs, and prostitution. Occupational crimes are offences that are done within a profession. Organized crimes are carried out in groups while political crimes are committed against or by the government (Bennett et al., 2016). For example Jeffrey Wood was sentenced to death on March 3, 1996 by the Texas Court under the Law of Parties. On January 2, 1996, Wood was 22 years old when, accompanying Daniel Reneau, parked near the Texaco petro station while Reneau went in the petro station and shot dead the station attendant and stole $11,350 from the safe. The penal code in Texas states that a person is criminally liable for a crime done by another if the person acts to assist or promote the commission of the offence (Van, Sliedregt, 2018). This is bad law because it punishes a person because of another person’s actions which may have not be their intentions. The two might not have agreed to murder the attendant but Reneau decided to do so for his reason. Wood could have been opposed to the action and therefore giving him the same punishment as Reneau is bad law.
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References
Bennett, A. M., Baker, S. M., Cross, S., James, J. P., Bartholomew, G., Ekpo, A. E., & Stovall, T. (2016). Omission and commission as marketplace trauma. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing , 35 (2), 280-291.
Gray, C. (2016). A study of state judicial discipline sanctions.
Van Sliedregt, E. (2018). Criminalization of Crimes against Humanity under National Law. Journal of International Criminal Justice , 16 (4), 729-749.
