Forum Criminal Justice

Forum:Criminal Justice

 Forum:Criminal Justice

Severaldocuments which ensure that the dignity of human beings and theirrights are protected have been created. For instance, the statutoryprovisions and the Constitution have been enacted to protect suchrights. All of these documents explain in detail the situations whichcould lead to prosecution in court. Essentially, the situations couldbe something done or something not done that comprises the rights anddignity of an individual them (Gardner &amp Anderson, 2016). Therefore, this article wishes to look into the situation ofPestinikas and his wife and determine whether they could facecriminal charges and the types of these accusations.

Alegal duty is an obligation which is put in place by the law orcontract. The law dictates that in obligations where an individualowes another person a duty which he omits causing the death of theone owed, makes the other chargeable with murder. In essence, the lawmakes such an agreement a legal duty rather than just a moralobligation. Hence, the duty is imposed by the law, and its omissionor failure to adequately perform it is considered as the cause ofdeath of the person. However, this only applies when the individualwilfully omits the duty and deliberately wanted the death of theperson to which he owes the duty. But in this case, Pestinikasundertook the responsibilities to provide the required care for Klywhich he inevitably failed to perform. Consequently, the elderly mandied making the charges a potential criminal homicide (Gardner &ampAnderson, 2016). The Texas Penal Code states that a person commitscriminal negligence homicide if he/she causes the death of another asa result of criminal negligence. Tex. Penal Code § 19.05 (1994)

Pestinikasand his wife failed to provide food, water, and healthcare which wereessential for the continuation of the life of Kly, despite taking theman into their custody. A similar case charged the defendant withinvoluntary manslaughter and criminal negligence. Davisv. Commonwealth,230 Va. 201, 335 S.E.2d 375 (1985). Under sections 19.04 and 19.05 ofthe Texas Penal Code, Pestinikas and his wife could face a criminalnegligence homicide, and/or manslaughter. Tex. Penal Code § 19(1994).

Reference

Gardner,T. J., &amp Anderson, T. M. (2016).&nbspCriminallaw.Cengage Learning.