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People v. Anderson
Supreme Court of California (1968)
Plaintiff: State
Defendant: Anderson; the defendant was charged with killing of a 10 year old girl and he was found guilty of first degree murder. The evidence found at the actual killing showed that the killing was not conducted in an organized manner and the victim was actually slashed with a knife about 40 times before she died. Blood was found all over the house which showed that the defendant chased the victime all around the house and there was also evidence that the defendant was drunk when he killed his victim.
Issue: Was this a first degree murder?
Holding: No
Legal Reasoning: The court held that in order for a murder to be considered first degree, three elements should be considered: 1. prior activities of the killer, 2. prior relationship of the killer with the victim, 3. manner of killing. The court ruled that there was no evidence that that the defendant pre-planned the murder. The court further held that the defendant did not have a relationship with his victim from which he could have gained some motives. The court also found that the manner of killing shows that the defendant did not pre-plan the murder and he struggled around with the victim all over the house before he actually killed her. The court ruled that without meeting these three elements, a murder can not be considered first degree. The court reduced the sentence to second degree murder.