OCDA Investigative Report_pdf.REDACTEDNAMEONLY.TBC

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* * * * * THE LAW Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. Murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter are types of homicide. To prove that a person is guilty of murder, the following must be proven: a. Thepersoncommittedanactthatcausedthedeathofanotherperson; b. When the person acted he/she had a state of mind called malice aforethought; and c. He/she killed without lawful excuse or justification. There are two kinds of malice aforethought, express malice and implied malice. Express malice is when the person unlawfully intended to kill. Implied malice requires that a person intentionally committed an act, the natural and probable consequences of the act were dangerous to human life, at the time he acted he knew his act was dangerous to human life, and he/she deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human life. A person can also commir murder by his/her failure to perform a legal duty, if the following conditions exist: The killing is unlawful (i.e., without lawful excuse or justification); The death is caused by an intentional failure to act in a situation where a person is under a duty to act; The failure to act is dangerous to human life; and The failure to act is deliberately performed with knowledge of the danger to, and with conscious disregard for, human life. A person can also commit involuntaty manslaughter by failing to perform a legal duty, if the following conditions exist: The person had a legal duty to the decedent; The person failed to perform that legal duty; The person's failure was criminally negligent; and The person's failure caused the death ofthe decedent. In Giraldo v. California Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation (2008) 168 Cal.App.4th 231, 250-251, the court held that there is a "special relationship" between jailer and prisoner: "[T}he most important consideration 'in establishing duty is foreseeability.' [citationl It is manifestly foreseeable than an ii'imate may be at risk of harm.... Prisoners are vulnerable. And dependent. Moreover, the relationship between them is protective by nature, such that the jailer has control over the prisoner, who is deprived of the normal opportunity to protect himself from harm inflicted by others. This, we conclude, is the epitome of a special relationship, imposing a duty of care on a jailer owed to a prisoner, and we today add California to the list of jurisdictions recognizing a special relationship between jailer and prisoner." California Government Code 845.6 codifies that the special relationship that exists in a custodial setting gives rise to a legal duty, as follows: "[A] public employee, and the public entity where the employee is acting within the scope of his employment, is liable if the employee knows or has reason to know that the prisoner is in need of immediate medical care and he fails to take reasonable action to summon such medical care." 5