Opinion ID: 1060568
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Differing Mens Rea and Age Requirements

Text: The defendant argues that the offense of aggravated child abuse is not a lesser-included offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child because of the different requirements for both the mens rea and the age of victims. The defendant contends the more serious homicide offense... had a lesser mental state of `reckless' as compared to the higher mental state of `knowing' in the less serious aggravated child abuse statute. The defendant also points out that the more serious offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child requires the victim to be under the age of sixteen while the offense of aggravated child abuse requires the victim to be under the age of eighteen. For the reasons below, we conclude that the offense of aggravated child abuse is a lesser-included offense of the offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child committed during aggravated child abuse. Aggravated child abuse at the time of the children's deaths was defined as follows: (a) A person is guilty of the offense of aggravated child abuse who commits the offense of child abuse as defined in § 39-15-401 and: (1) The act of abuse results in serious bodily injury to the child; or (2) A deadly weapon is used to accomplish the act of abuse. (b) A violation of this section is a Class B felony; provided, that, if the abused child is six (6) years of age or less, the penalty is a Class A felony. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-15-402(a), (b) (1994). The offense of child abuse was defined as follows: Any person who knowingly, other than by accidental means, treats a child under eighteen (18) years of age in such a manner as to inflict injury or neglects such a child so as to adversely affect the child's health and welfare is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor; provided, that if the abused child is six (6) years of age or less, the penalty is a Class D felony. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-15-401 (1994). In State v. Burns, 6 S.W.3d 453, 466 (Tenn.1999), we adopted a test to determine whether crimes are lesser-included offenses of other crimes. [3] We held in part that an offense is a lesser-included offense if all of its statutory elements are included within the statutory elements of the offense charged. Burns further states that an offense is a lesser-included offense of the crime charged when the elements of the lesser offense are a subset of the elements of the charged offense. Id. at 464 (citing Schmuck v. United States, 489 U.S. 705, 716, 109 S.Ct. 1443, 103 L.Ed.2d 734 (1989)). The offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child is comprised of the following elements: (1) a reckless killing, (2) of a child victim less than sixteen years of age, (3) by aggravated child abuse. Thus, the offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child incorporates the offense of aggravated child abuse into the murder offense. The provisions regarding the reckless mens rea and the victim's age are elements required in addition to the requirement that the killing be committed by aggravated child abuse. The defendant contends that the more serious homicide charge has a lesser mental state requirement than the offense of aggravated child abuse. The more serious homicide offense does include a mental state of recklessness as to the killing. The term reckless refers to a person who acts recklessly with respect to circumstances surrounding the conduct or the result of the conduct when the person is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the circumstances exist or the result will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that its disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under all the circumstances as viewed from the accused person's standpoint. Tenn.Code Ann. § 39-11-302(c)(1994). The child murder statute criminalizes the reckless killing of a child less than sixteen if the child's death results from aggravated child abuse, which is the knowing treatment or neglect of a child so as to cause injury or adversely affect the child's health. In other words, the more serious charge simply requires an additional element that, along with the knowing act of child abuse or neglect, the person consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death could occur. Similarly, the requirement that the victim be less than sixteen years of age is an additional element and is not inconsistent with the age requirement for aggravated child abuse as the defendant alleges. Murder for the reckless killing of a child incorporates the aggravated child abuse offense, which applies to victims under the age of eighteen. The murder statute then sets forth an additional element that the victim be less than sixteen years of age. This additional element works to narrow the universe of potential victims and requires the State to produce proof that the victim is not only under the age of eighteen but under the age of sixteen as well. In this case, under either Burns or the pre- Burns Howard test, the offense of aggravated child abuse is a lesser-included offense of murder for the reckless killing of a child by aggravated child abuse because all of the statutory elements of the lesser offense are included within the statutory elements of the offense charged. See Howard v. State, 578 S.W.2d 83, 85 (Tenn.1979).