Did you read all the stuff you posted here? Some of it was interesting.
Wrongly Accused
- Thread starter marketsurfer
- Start date
Yes. Basically she is being convicted because she was an accomplice to a crime which ended up in the murder of a police officer. Here's where she got nailed:
"Under the applicable version of § 18-3-102(1)(b), a person commits felony murder if, acting alone or with others, "
She asked for a lesser charge of a degree of burglary which unfortunately, is one of the predicate felonies that qualify. Even though she was apprehended prior to her accomplice shooting the officer, they are saying that she was fleeing that predicate felony crime and hence is liable to be prosecuted for it.
"The information charged defendant with felony murder in count one as follows:
On or about the 12th day of November, A.D. 1997, at the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado, Lisl E. Auman, did unlawfully and feloniously, acting alone and with one or more persons, commit and attempt to commit the felony of Burglary; and, in the course of and in furtherance of said crime that defendant was committing and attempting to commit, and in immediate flight therefrom, the death of a person other than one of the participants, namely [the deceased officer] was caused . . . ."
Perhaps she can claim ineffective counsel:
"Although defendant now claims lack of specificity as to which burglary count was the predicate offense for felony murder hindered her trial preparation, she did not seek a bill of particulars. Moreover, throughout the pretrial phase other counts made clear to her that the two charged burglaries involved exactly the same incident.
Defendant also contends she received inadequate notice that during trial second degree burglary could become the basis for her felony murder conviction. However, second degree burglary was originally charged, and, after that charge had been dismissed, defendant requested it be submitted to the jury as a lesser included offense. Cf. Williams II, supra (When a lesser nonincluded offense instruction is requested by the defense, the information is thereby deemed amended to include that charge).
Accordingly, we conclude the absence of an allegation in the information specifying which burglary count constituted the predicate offense to felony murder could not have prejudiced defendant."
