Murder 1 or Not?

Good morning my people, Reading the information and hearing the new stories surrounding the Trayvon Martin case, I have heard the terms "murder 1" thrown about quite a bit. I'm also a big fan of the CSI's, Bones, and those type shows so I hear these all the time. Not being a legal expert, I decided to look up the degrees of murder to have a full understanding of the circumstances that mandate one over the other and found this useful guide on answers.com. I wanted to share it with you in hopes that perhaps it would give you a clear indication of what the terms mean as they are being thrown around in our everyday news intake. (If you already knew- consider it a quick reminder) Classical legal definition: Note that eash US state creates their own definitions for crimes. They can vary from place to place. The following is a good guide: First Degree Murder:, AKA Murder 1- Murder with malice aforethought. This classically requires Mens rea and Actus Reas -- evil intent and evil act. So 1st degree would include: Premeditated murder (Usually includes poisoning) Lying in wait (ambush) Murder for hire Murder to cover evidence Second Degree Murder, AKA Murder 2- Murder with intent but without planning. The murderer must intend to kill the victim, and succeed in the killing, but will not have planned ahead of time to do this. This would include a killing made spontaneously during a bar fight, for instance. So again, there is intent to kill and the act of killing -- hence murder. Manslaughter: Manslaughter requires a homocide without intent. Typical classes are Accidental, Negligent, Reckless (Endangerment leading to). Most often, manslaughter invovles a homocide during the commission of a (lesser) crime, without intent to kill. Special Circumstances. In departure from classical murder charges, Murder 1 or 2 may now be charged in: Cases of DUI, where there is a fatality (even though there is no determined intent). Special Circumstances: During the commission of a certain class of felony (varies between jurisdiction), someone is killed by the perpetrator of the felony, but without any intent to kill. Also referred to as Felony Murder Rule, if you commit murder while committing a felony, it is 1st Degree Murder. Special Circumstances -- Police Action. In some states, during the commission of a felony, if the police, acting to apprehend the perpetrator, accidentally commit a homocide, either of an innocent bystander, a fellow officer or another suspect, the perpetrator may be charged with murder (often in the 1st degree). If, when avoiding aprehension, a TVA* fatality occurs, the perpetrator may be charged with murder (1st usually) even in the absense of intent. Note that Special Circumstances are a deviation from the classical formula for murder, which required a homocide and specific intent. Happy Wednesday!

New Years Pursuit of Happyness

Thursday morning this week as I drove to work the sun shone brightly and its rays reached my face a little after 7 am as I crossed the intersection of I-459 and I-20. I vowed to write about that warmth sometime that day but with the push and pull of obligations, never got around to it. As a writer, I've been away from my craft too long. I've studied life without many words for quite some time and I am now ready to comment on the many beautiful and ugly things I've seen in the last year. While I wish I could pretend that I'm going to commit to writing everyday, this notion is foolhardy and asinine given we have 24 hours each day and my hours slip away so quickly as of late I'm astonished that my eyes are closing at 11 pm or after more often than I would like. I will take a pragmatic approach and vow to myself that one morning or evening a week, I'll indulge in the simple pleasure of posting something. As of late I have been listening to the audiobook "Start Where You Are" by Chris Gardner (everytime I think of Chris, I want to say Darden... why is that?). I have thoroughly enjoyed the his voice on his life walk and suggest the book to you. I have also committed to renewing myself. A lady at a friends church is taking them through a renewal spiritual exercise and I'm going to start for real today. Each day has a scripture focus and writing assignment. If you like doing these things, I can be sure you have the next days if you email me at crystalgood@hotmail.com. Day 1 (which I completed last week-don't judge me) is this:

Focus Scripture: Psalm 141:8 If you are going to allow God to totally heal you, first you’ve got to make a personal commitment to ALLOW Him to change your heart. Together, let's walk 21 days of healing. We will start by first, writing down ALL of the areas of our lives that are in need of healing. And as we allow God to heal us, we will be able to check off those things and move forward. It’s our goal to check off everything on our list as a sign of healing taking place. Assignment #1 Write your list of the areas in need of healing, be TOTALLY open and honest. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!

I'm back to blogging. Happy New Year!

Delicate Dealings

Last night I learned a valuable lesson about sharing things about people. The lesson can be summed up in Kurt Kobain's quote, We have no right to express an opinion until we know all of the answers. My approach to expressing my opinion about something dealing with a family member ended up causing alarm and anger and led to a deep offense. My motive and intent were questioned and ultimately were dismissed to smeer tactics. If I had known then what I know now, I may have remained silent. In retrospect, however, it is probably a good thing that I now know that there was an unknown issue from before that had gone unspoken. It also opened up other conversation that led to a better understanding of a current situation. I am grateful for the lesson but deeply saddened by the outcome and the potential loss of a great relationship. Word to the wise: Always be aware of the risk involved with sharing your opinions with others about things that are dear to them. Assess that risk before opening your mouth.

Saving a Child or Ruining a Nation?

Today this is sitting on my chest so intensely that I had to share My coworker and his wife have been in the process of adopting two Ugandan children over the last year. Last month he went for a hearing in Uganda, the almost last step before the children came home with them only to be denied adoption of the two children after being there for less than 2 days. They were crestfallen and immediately filed an appeal for their case to be heard before a different judge. The judge ruled against the adoption and, per my coworker, has a reputation for blocking adoptions of any Ugandan children to foreigners, only granting the right of adoption to domestic parents. The shared rationale for his decision was that America had enough problems as it is for its citizens to venture across the ocean to adopt children. They also share that children being adopted by foreign parents was adding to the demise of Uganda as a nation. Coworkers reaction was one of disbelief, a huffing "How dare he deny these children the right to loving homes," and general distaste for his remarks about his feelings about foreign adoption. With the responses came a brief narrative of the story of one of the children indicating that the infant had been left on the jungle floor alone and had been found. Her reaction was "Why would a judge allow a child who had been abandoned to remain unadopted based on a nationality glitch?" As I sit here, I'm looking at this is two different lights. My first thought in response to my coworkers remarks is that there are millions of orphan children right here in the U.S. that are overlooked just as easily as they feel these Ugandan children have been. How much thought do we give to these children who's faces are not plastered on a commercial but equally as in need. My second thought is, if what they say is true about the rationale behind the judges decision, that in fact, the slow siphon of Ugandan children out of Uganda by foreigners is in fact adding to the demise of the nation, what indications in his society would lead him to that statement of opinion. I don't have any knowledge about the adoption process. I do, however, have a handful of childhood friends who I grew up with that were foster children, a few of them actually being adopted, but most not ever experiencing that. We had three foster homes on my street and my first best friend Tamekia and her brother Anthony were placed at my neighbor, Mrs. Howards house because their mother left for the store and never returned. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Digging In My Roots Again

This afternoon I returned home and felt inclined to spend time "digging in my roots", researching Joe Goodley on my family tree. I positioned myself on my bed, pulled out my family binder and logged onto ancestry.com. Hoping to make some progress in my search for who this man is/was, I clicked the green leaf next to his name and it led me to 5 hints the program suggested. Four of the five were not helpful, referencing Joe Goodley's in other states too far from his last known whereabouts to be relevant. The last tab I checked on was ironically the first tab listed. It was a link to another family tree named the Watts Family Tree and the information on their tree matched exactly to my own. A stream of excitement rushed through my veins. In my binder, I have the funeral programs for my great grandfather Will Goodman Sr and great grandmother Willie Mae Goodman. With the information on the program, I updated the death dates on my family tree. Within 20 minutes of my update, I had 3 more hints and the program offered a few more lines to connect my dots. What prompted this afternoon exploration is that I have been feeling impressed upon to be able to tell my personal story within the context of the places, people, and times that made me who I am. The notes that I have taken over the years and the diary entries from interviews with family members has made this journey one in education, understanding, hope, and inspiration. This search has brought into my path so many stories and other things that I never anticipated that started while doing a class assignment April 6, 1995. One unexpected thing I found in my binder is a series of letters I typed to my sister in 2000 telling her about me and my life and giving her advice based on my experiences. In a letter written September 15, 2000, I wrote to her about the Black College Campus tour and the wellness forum where Sistah Souljah was keynote. In true Sistah Souljah fashion, she ignited in me with 9 tips that are relevant even today. I now share them with you. 1. Don't waste time 2. Use time to do reading outside of the sylabus 3. Develop sisterhood 4. Take every negative experience and turn it into a postivie one. 5. Keep strong friendships 6. Create businesses 7. Remember politics 7. Develop family and community 8. Get respect and love for yourself As an aside, I encourage you to find a way to document the times of your life. Whether everyday, once a week or month, or just on the days that mean the most to you, find a way to mark the date, time, and place so you can be reminded of your own journey, see how far you have come, understand who you were then and how you became who you are now. Leave crumbs along the path, so, if one day you must return, you can find your way back.

37 Days and Counting: Our Children

This morning I watched about a dozen children emerge from everywhere when the yellow flashing lights came on, the mechanical stop sign swung out when the accordian door opened to welcome them onto the "big cheese". Some scurried out of idling vehicles into line, others walked leisurely from several yards away along the side as if the bus didn't have time frame in which to deliver them. I almost missed watching the moblizing of our future wrapped up in the routine of leaving home, eating cereal, but a gentle nudge appealed to my childlike sense of wonder and as I waited for the bus to pass, I reveled in watching these children, seeing personalities and life approaches in the way they boarded. It reminded me of the Birmingham Change Fund, of the work that these talented individuals are doing collectively to leave an indellible print of the positive trajectory of education in the Birmingham City Schools. It shamed me into being more creative about how I can contribute to a process we are in the middle of despite my tight time and obligation constraints. Surely there is a way.

Most importantly it reminded me to pay attention to each moment, to seek earnestly the opportunities of today, to search them out, lie in wait of anticipation, so I may maximize the day I have before me. It reminds me of the miracles Jesus performed in opening blind eyes. Lord, open my blind eyes. Let me see what's right in front of me. To see the potential in today. This is my Thursday morning prayer.

Can't Sleep

So it's 3:01 am and I'm up, and not just your sleepy eyed in and out of sleep up where you can roll over and resume the REM sleep. I'm talking about the kind of up where the sun is at 12 o' clock and you should be awake up. This is the third night in the last three weeks that I have been awakened during sleeping hours. The first two nights I managed to lay here long enough to slip back into sleep. But tonight, I was awakened twice, once a little after midnight then again a little after 1.

My upbringing taught me that being awakened in the night should direct me to prayer and reading the Bible and listening to hear a word. When Samuel was a young boy in the care of the prophet Eli, he heard his name called several times during the night. Each time he ran to the old Eli thinking it was him. When Eli realized what was going on, he instructed Samuel to answer "here I am Lord" the next time he heard his name called. It changed Samuel's life forever.

I have drifted from my first love; it has been subtle and slow veering from what I know to be right for me. This morning is an attempt to get my attention, a confirmation to the message and tug. I have a trust issue that needs some work. A focus that needs realignment. A heart that needs reshaping. A mind that needs renewing.

So here I am Lord. Speak, I'm listening.