Criminal Justice Outcomes in Intimate and Non-intimate Partner Homicide Cases

4. Results (cont'd)

4.2 Multivariate analysis: Isolating the effects of intimacy in criminal law (continued)

Box 4. Accused who stood trial: Trial Acquittals

Case #9908

The male victim and the male accused in this case were strangers. In the early morning hours just before the killing, the victim and his girlfriend were arguing outside on the street. The accused intervened in the couple’s argument. At some point during the altercation, the accused pushed and struck the victim who died the next day. The accused admitted he punched the victim, but that he only did so to protect himself and the girlfriend from the intoxicated victim. The accused was charged with manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty and was acquitted by a jury after a three-week trial.

Case #9715

The male victim in this case was the common-law partner of the accused person’s sister. The common-law relationship had allegedly been fraught with abusive behavior on the part of the victim toward the sister of the male accused. As a result, there was increasing animosity between the victim and the accused. On the day of the homicide, the victim went to the home of the accused and a physical confrontation took place. Neighbors who witnessed the fight, alerted the police, but when they arrived at the scene, the victim was dead. The accused was charged with manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty and his case was sent to trial where he was found not guilty.

Case #9713

The male victim and the male accused in this case lived in the same rooming house. The victim died after his mattress was set on fire by the accused. Fellow tenants tried to douse the fire, but to no avail. The victim was dead when firefighters arrived on the scene. The accused, a schizophrenic, confessed to starting the fire, but said it was an accident that occurred when he spilled fluid trying to refill a lighter. The accused was charged with manslaughter, but was acquitted at trial.

Case #9637

The elderly male victim in this case was beaten to death and left in a dumpster behind an apartment building where his body was not discovered until about four months later. It was alleged that a fight occurred between the victim and the male accused, who were acquaintances, over a small amount of money at a drinking party. The accused was charged with second-degree murder, but was acquitted by a jury.

Case #9205

The male accused in this case was among a number of visitors who were drinking together in an apartment. It was alleged that he dropped a cigarette, saw it ignite and then left. The fire quickly spread trapping residents of the apartment building. The female victim, overcome with smoke, died after suffering from a heart attack when she was trapped in an elevator. The accused was charged with second-degree murder, but was acquitted because there was not a clear account of what happened and reasonable doubt as to who started the fire.

Case #9407

The male victim and female accused in this case were boyfriend and girlfriend. On the evening of the killing, they were both drinking when it was alleged that the accused stabbed the victim in self-defence. The jury heard that the accused had been both physically and verbally abused by the victim, who died from a single stab wound to the heart. The accused was charged with manslaughter, but acquitted by a jury.