Should this guy be in jail for murder? More despicable behavior from Orange County prosecutors
In July of 2006, Cole Wilkins went to an empty construction site late at night and stealthily loaded light fixtures, a sink, a stove, various other appliances, and more onto his truck. He was sixty miles away headed home when the stove he had stolen fell off the back of the truck onto the highway. A few minutes later, David Piquette, a sheriff's deputy in Los Angeles, swerved to avoid hitting the stove and collided with a tractor trailer carrying cement. He was killed. Two years later, Wilkins was convicted of first degree murder.
Does first degree murder sound like an outrageous charge here? Well, this is an extreme example of the problems with the felony murder rule, which says that a defendant can be found guilty of first degree murder if a person dies in the course of that defendant committing a felony. Wilkins had recently committed burglary and therefore, the state argued, was guilty of murdering Piquette.
Wilkins appealed the ruling, but the appellate court ruled for the state, too. He appealed again, and this time the California Supreme Court reversed.
The court found that the jury had not been given adequate instructions before convicting Wilkins, because they weren't instructed that the crime of burglary only continues until the burglar has successfully escaped from the scene. Successful escape in this case means until the burglar "is no longer being chased and has unchallenged possession of the property." At the time of the accident, Wilkins was driving home 60 miles away, the burglary had already been committed, and he wasn't fleeing anyone or actively trying to escape the scene. Nor was he even speeding or driving recklessly. Had the jury been given these instructions, they may very well have found that felony was over by the time of the accident, and Wilkins would not have been convicted of murder.
Of course, we’re talking about Orange County here, so the story doesn’t end there. Not only did the Orange County DA overcharge this guy, and not only did the court fail to give the jury the correct instructions, OC Weekly reports that there was serious misconduct on the part of prosecutors.