Opinion ID: 2202924
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The robbery as the cause in fact of the death of Webb

Text: Our felony murder statute, 17-A M.R. S.A., § 202, provides in pertinent part that [a] person is guilty of felony murder if acting ... with one or more other persons in the commission of ... robbery..., he or another participant in fact causes the death of a human being, and such death is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of such commission.... (Emphasis supplied). This statute must be read together with 17-A M.R.S.A. § 34(4) respecting proof of a culpable mental state in felony murder. Section 34(4) states that [u]nless otherwise expressly provided, a culpable mental state need not be proved with respect to: A. ...; or B. Any element of the crime as to which it is expressly stated that it must in fact exist. (Emphasis added). Thus, Maine's new criminal code effective May 1, 1976, in introducing its own felony murder rule, provides expressly as basic elements of felony murder under 17-A M.R.S.A. § 202, (1) that the commission of any of the statutorily enumerated felonies in fact causes the death of the human victim involved and (2) that such death is a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the commission of such felony. In this, the code was merely declaratory of existing law, since, in order to find guilt under the pre-existing felony murder rule, the State had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt not merely a causal relationship between the felony committed and the death, but also that the commission of the felony itself in the manner or method of execution presented a reasonably foreseeable perceptibility of risk of death. See State v. Pray, 378 A.2d 1322, 1324 (Me.1977); State v. Wallace, 333 A.2d 72, 80 (Me.1975); State v. Trott, 289 A.2d 414, 418, n. 7 (Me.1972). Also, by virtue of the express terms of 17-A M.R.S.A. § 34, which specifies that a culpable mental state need not be proved with respect to any element of any particular crime as to which the statute expressly states that such element must in fact exist, we must conclude that it was the intention of the Legislature, in enacting section 202, the felony murder provision, to prohibit as felony murder the causing of any unintended death that in fact results as a reasonably foreseeable consequence of an intended felony. See State v. Caouette, 462 A.2d 1171, 1174 (Me.1983); 2 C. Torcia, Wharton's Criminal Law § 145, at 204 (14th ed. 1979). The defendant, however, argues that the evidence in this case was insufficient as a matter of law to support proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the commission of the robbery upon the person of Mr. Webb in fact caused Mr. Webb's death. He bases his argument on 17-A M.R.S.A. § 33, which says: Unless otherwise provided, when causing a result is an element of a crime, causation may be found where the result would not have occurred but for the conduct of the defendant operating either alone or concurrently with another cause, unless the concurrent cause was clearly sufficient to produce the result and the conduct of the defendant was clearly insufficient. Reardon claims that there existed concurrent causes which alone were clearly sufficient to produce the death of Mr. Webb and that the robbery itself was clearly insufficient. We disagree. As stated in State v. Crocker, 431 A.2d 1323, 1325 (Me. 1981): In every case where causing a result is an element of the crime the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the result would not have occurred but for the defendant's conduct. The State may prove either that the defendant's conduct, operating alone, produced the result or that the defendant's conduct, operating in conjunction with a concurrent causative condition, produced the result. (Emphasis in original). Dr. Henry Ryan, Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maine, testified as a prosecution witness. He stated that Mr. Webb died of a heart attack due to coronary arteriosclerosis precipitated by a stressful incident which he was given to believe was an assault or robbery. In final analysis, he indicated that in his opinion Mr. Webb's fatal heart attack and death were caused by the robbery. As factors supporting his expert conclusion, he cited the fact that coronary arteriosclerotic disease is very common in people of Mr. Webb's age of 67 years and that the disease was unusually severe in Mr. Webb's case, adding that sudden stresses do play a role in precipitating heart attacks in such circumstances. Dr. Ryan concluded that the precipitating cause of Mr. Webb's heart attack and death was any one of several potential stress-causing incidents, such as the robbery itself, Mr. Webb's chase of his attackers, or his thinking about the robbery soon afterwards, especially in reporting it to the police. In his extended and comprehensive findings of fact, the presiding justice as the trier of fact found among other things, that the defendant's conduct in using physical force in the manner that he did upon the person of Mr. Webb for the purpose of robbing him of his wallet did cause such stress to Mr. Webb, that he suffered a heart attack which would not have occurred but for the defendant's conduct and that it was a reasonably foreseeable consequence that robbing Mr. Webb in this manner would cause a person of his age and appearance and of poor cardiovascular condition, which was also reasonably foreseeable, to suffer a heart attack and death.