On Point blog, page 2 of 2
§ 940.02, First-degree reckless homicide — Subjective Awareness of Risk — sufficiency of evidence
State v. Jefrey S. Kimbrough, 2001 WI App 138, PFR filed 6/25/01
For Kimbrough: Glenn C. Cushing, SPD, Madison Appellate
Issue: Whether the evidence satisfied the reckless-conduct element, in particular that the defendant was subjectively aware of the risks in shaking a baby who died as a result.
Holding: The jury was entitled to draw a finding of guilt on this element from competing inferences: Though defendant’s intelligence was “limited,”
§ 940.02, First-degree reckless homicide — utter disregard for human life — sufficiency of evidence
State v. Audrey A. Edmunds, 229 Wis. 2d 67, 598 N.W.2d 290 (Ct. App. 1999)
For Edmunds: Dean A. Strang
Holding: “Utter disregard for human life,” an element of first-degree recklessness, derives from the old second-degree (depraved murder) statute. It imposes an objective test. Therefore, in this shaken baby death, it’s irrelevant whether Edmunds had “personal knowledge that vigorously shaking a twenty-two pound infant could subject her to the risk of serious injury”: a reasonable person would have known of the risk.