375
Murder defendant slips restraints in court, stabs his lawyer with pen. All good, attorney says (www.latimes.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world
67 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 4 points 2 years ago (5 children)

I guess. But you can also smother someone with a fluffy pillow. So that's a deadly weapon, too? Like where is the line between "deadly weapon" and "any random object".

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 10 child comments
    •
  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    I think it might just be a line of how they used the random object could have reasonably resulted in death. So if you smack someone in the face with a fluffy pillow, it's not a deadly weapon. If you try to smother them with it, it is.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'll be honest, if I roll 99 on a crit roll with a pillow I damn well expect an instant kill.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Seems quite simple to me. Things like guns, swords, daggers and the like are designed to be weapons. So they're generally going to be assumed to be a weapon any time they're used/brandished.

    But literally anything can be used as a weapon. So, in normal use they're not a weapon but if used as a weapon, they become one in that instance.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Yeah, but then the term "deadly weapon" is kind of meaningless as it basically just means "assualt with a thing".

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    I think on a legal level it means it was an object that was being wielded as a weapon, and from the attack in the specific instance it was meant to kill and the object was capable of achieving that. Hence a deadly weapon.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    Yeah, I'd agree there. It should be whatever the US equivalent of aggravated assault is. But the charges you could levy bearing in mind he aimed for the head could go as far as attempted murder I guess.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    Not entirely useless. "Assaulted with thing that could kill or maim under the circumstances at that time" is pretty relevant, even if it is super broad.

    Spitting on someone Is assault. If I was on trial for spitting on someone I'd hate to get lumped together with the guy who caved someone's head in with a lead pipe.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent