Opinion ID: 1470079
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defense of Duress

Text: The defendant contends that the trial justice erred when he refused to instruct the jury on the defense of duress. Because we are satisfied that this defense has no place in this case, we reject defendant's argument. A duress defense has three elements: 1) an immediate threat of serious bodily injury or death, 2) a well-grounded belief that the threat will be carried out, and 3) no reasonable opportunity to escape or otherwise to frustrate the threat. State v. Verrecchia, 766 A.2d 377, 389 (R.I.2001) (quoting United States v. Arthurs, 73 F.3d 444, 448 (1st Cir.1996)). A party's failure to establish one of these elements is sufficient to justify denying a request to instruct the jury on this defense theory. Id. (citing Arthurs, 73 F.3d at 448-49). Here, defendant was not entitled to this instruction as a matter of law and may not rely on the defense of duress to avoid the consequences of her criminal neglect of Alexis. There is no evidence that defendant was unable to escape from Raul or reach out for help  her self-serving excuses notwithstanding. The evidence disclosed that Raul had abused the child for many weeks and that, during that time, defendant was alone on occasion with her son in their apartment or in a public place. She never told anyone that she was in trouble or that Raul was abusing Alexis. Indeed, when she was admitted to the hospital, defendant asked to keep the child with her, but she never explained to anyone why she wished to do so. By failing to report Alexis's dire situation to anyone, whether a store clerk or a nurse in the hospital, Lopez-Navor failed to protect her child from his father's abuse. See United States v. Bakhtiari, 913 F.2d 1053, 1058 (2nd Cir.1990) (quoting United States v. Alicea, 837 F.2d 103, 106 (2nd Cir.1988) ([W]here there is reasonable opportunity to escape the threatened harm, the defendant must take reasonable steps to avail himself [or herself] of that opportunity, whether by flight or by seeking the intervention of the appropriate authorities.); see also In re Chester J., 754 A.2d 772, 778 (R.I.2000) and In re Nicole B., 703 A.2d 612, 617-18 (R.I.1997) (holding that parents are held to a greater level of responsibility and awareness for their children than other adults and that parents who ignore abuse are as culpable as the actors, in the context of the termination of parental rights). Finally, the fact that defendant may have feared contacting the police because of her status as an illegal alien is no defense  she is not relieved of her duty to protect her child and seek help despite any personal consequences. Neither her fear of Raul nor the threat of deportation excused her conduct, and an instruction on the defense of duress was not warranted by the evidence.