Guy gets drunk and has extremely diminished reason because of drink. He knocks a girl down and forces himself upon her. Well, he doesn't know what is going on. Is he responsible for his actions? Is this rape?
Legally? No.A crime needs mens rea, which is absent, when someone doesn´t know what he´s doing.
So if I'm driving drunk and crash into a school bus full of kids, I'm only guilty of DUI not manslaughter or murder, right?
It depends on the circumstances involved. For manslaughter or murder, you´d need INTENTION to kill (or, at least, an awareness and acceptance of the risk of killing someone, which MIGHT be present, if you were aware of your state and could still control your actions enough, to not do it), otherwise it would be criminal negligence. IF you are too drunk to control your actions, your actions cannot be held against you - BUT you might be held responsible for getting drunk so badly.
I guess European law is different than U.S. Law where one can (and sometimes will) be charged with manslaughter or homicide. See below.
In any event, even if it is Europe and considered criminal negligence, there is
some recognition of responsibility on the part of the person who performed the actions, right?
Let's see if we agree on this.
If a girl is very drunk, but:
1) She can understand the question: Do you want to have sex?
2) She can understand that if she says "yes" they will engage in sex.
3) She says yes and engages in sex remaining conscious and without protest (either verbal or physical) during the act.
Then it's not rape
even if she is drunk. Do we agree on that?
Tucson Region
Sentence for DUI death is 15 years
By Kim Smith
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.21.2006
A 46-year-old Tucson man whose drunken-driving accident killed a young motorcyclist last April was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison.
Before being sentenced by Pima County Superior Court Judge Frank Dawley, Gregory D. Artz told the family of Aaron Anaya Jr. he wishes he could trade places with Anaya.
Although he prays for their forgiveness, Artz told the family, "I understand if you hate me. I understand and I'll have to live with that."
Anaya, 21, was riding a 2004 Harley-Davidson on the Ajo Highway west of Tucson on April 14, 2005, when Artz turned in front of him, police reports say.
The motorcycle clipped the truck, throwing Anaya off the bike near South Sheridan Avenue just west of South Kinney Road. Anaya, who was not wearing a helmet, hit a sign.
Tests showed Artz had a blood-alcohol level of more than 0.30 at the time of the crash. He was convicted in January of manslaughter, two misdemeanor DUI charges and criminal damage.
Prosecutor Jonathan Mosher asked that Artz be given the maximum 21 years for manslaughter, pointing out that he'd had DUI convictions in the past.
Mosher said Anaya's death was foreseeable, given Artz's prior convictions.
"Aaron Anaya paid for this man's freedom with his life, and it's time for society to stop paying for it," Mosher said.
Standing in front of a packed courtroom, Anaya's mother, JoAnna Aguilar, made a tearful plea for the maximum sentence.
"Life is so precious," Aguilar said. "It's given to us, and for someone not to take that into consideration is so hard to believe."
Defense attorney Douglas Francis Jr. asked for a 10-year sentence, noting Artz's remorse and his vow to stay away from alcohol.
Artz can't trade his life for Anaya's, Francis said. "All he's left with is reliving that moment over and over and over again."
Dawley also sentenced Artz to 180 days for each of the DUI charges and 21 months for the criminal damage count, to be served concurrently with the manslaughter sentence. He gave Artz credit for 339 days already served in jail and ordered him to pay more than $9,300 in restitution.
FORT PIERCE — A 41-year-old man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for DUI manslaughter in connection with the death of a 77-year-old woman.
Geronimo Castro-Flores, of the 1900 block of Fulton Drive in Fort Pierce, reportedly had a blood-alcohol level of 0.252 and cocaine in his system July 1, 2006, when he drove his 1998 GMC pickup truck through a red light at Virginia Avenue and 13th Street in Fort Pierce and struck Alberta B. Richardson's 1988 Buick station wagon, which was waiting at the intersection.
Castro-Flores, who suffered minor injuries in the collision, told officers he had consumed about six beers before the crash. His blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
At a hearing Thursday before Circuit Judge Gary L. Sweet, Castro-Flores pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter, and prosecutors dropped a charge of vehicular homicide. The 15-year sentence is the maximum allowed.
"Drinking, drugging and driving is a lethal combination," Assistant State Attorney Jason Berger, a prosecutor on the case, said after the hearing. "There are no winners here, but justice is served."
