Winston Salem State University Criminal Law Discussion

I’m working on a criminal justice question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

1. Ava had a tremendous amount of resentment toward her brother Roy. He was friendly and well liked and she felt largely invisible. She began planning to kill him because of her belief that life would be easier if he wasn’t able to rub his social success in her face daily. Roy regularly jogged in the park in the morning. Ava knew this and hid in the bushes waiting for him to jog by. As he ran past her she intended to shoot him in the back but missed. Instead, she shot another man that was jogging on another section of the trails. As it turned out, she was relieved when she found out who it was that night on the news.  It was a friend of Roy’s who she also did not care for.  Upset that she had been such a “bad shot” the day before, she planned a second attempt to get Roy while he was jogging.  She shot him the following day and he dies from the gunshot wounds. On the witness stand for her trail, Ava’s lawyer introduces testimony that she has been suffering from a personality disorder since she was a child that makes it impossible for her to manage her emotions and actions, even with medication. She had been having particular during the timeframe surrounding the shootings and was, based on the testimony of the psychiatrist, in “crisis” during the two weeks before the incidents. The expert was able to establish to the satisfaction of the court that she was still in crisis on the day of the incident and was still unable to recall what she had done. What charges could the prosecutor bring? Could any of the parties be successful in defending against the charges? Explain and analyze fully.

2. Jasmine was hit by a drunk driver and has been admitted to the local hospital. Her injuries are very serious and as a result she has been in a coma. She is now considered brain dead but her vital functions are operating thanks to modern technology. Her mother had taken out a sizeable life insurance policy on Jasmine several years before and although she is very distraught by her daughter’s medical condition, she is hoping to collect on the life insurance policy. She thinks that Jasmine is suffering in her current condition and hires a “professional” to come into the hospital to disconnect the machines that are breathing for Jasmine. To be sure that the insurance company pays double the face value of the policy, Jasmine’s mom uses a special altering material to change the text of the official death certificate to read “cause of death – heart attack”. She files the death certificate with the insurance company and soon receives a check in the amount of $250,000.  Still grief-stricken mom cries all the way to the bank.  What charges could the prosecutor bring? Could any of the parties be successful in defending against the charges? Explain and analyze fully.