Victim: Four Case Studies

Case

Under the given circumstances, Sam should be charged with murder. Although he did make the prior effort to make sure the neighbors were not too close, the fact is clear -- a fire is extremely dangerous. He had no idea that there were squatters in the house; yet, that does not mean the act of lighting a fire was not a dangerous one. According to the Mississippi Code of 1972, Section 97-3-19, a crime can be considered murder even "when done in the commission of an act eminately dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to affect the death of any particular individual." Even if there was no one in the house, a fire fighter may have been killed or injured batting the blaze, and thus Sam's actions clearly would allow for a murder charge....
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