North Carolina's Criminal Justice Process Essay

North Carolinas Criminal Justice Process - Essay ExampleThis article of belief is expressed in the maxim Nullen Crimen, Nulla Poena, Sine Lege, a Latin phrase which means there is no crime, there is no punishment, without rectitude (Schebb, 1999).Criminal law distinguishes between serious crimes, known as shepherds crookies, and less serious offenses, called misdemeanors. Generally speaking, felonies are offenses for which the offender can be imprisoned for more than one year. commonality examples of felonies include make, rape, kidnapping, arson, assault with a deadly weapon, robbery and grand larceny (Mitchell 2008).The common law developed a doctrine where an accused is engaged in the commission of a felony and a homicide occurs, the felonious act is regarded as a substitute for the proof of malice aforethought required finding the defendant shamefaced of murder. Thus, it becomes felony murder where an accused unintentionally killed a human being while committing or attempti ng to commit, such common-law felonies as burglary, arson, rape, or robbery. The theory is that if a putting to death resulted, even though unintentional or accidental, the required malice is carried over from the original felony. Consequently, the felon would be found guilty of murder (Schebb, 1999).Although of dubious ancestry, the felony murder doctrine has been incorporated into most criminal codes in the United States even in North Carolina (Hall, 2000). With the proliferation of crimes classified as felonies, legislatures have generally limited its pertinence to felonies, involving violence or posing great threat to life or limb. Felony murder statutes have produced much litigation in the criminal courts (Hall, 2000). Some of the header raised include-can a felon ho perpetrate an offense be guilty of felony murder where the victim of the intend offense kills a co-felon or -should the felon committing a crime such as robbery be guilty of felony murder if a police officer mista kenly kills the felons intended victim? And -can a felon be guilty of