New legislation this year creates a handful of new homicide and assault crimes protecting unborn children. S.L. 2011-60. The term “unborn child” “means a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.” G.S. 14‑23.1. The new crimes, which apply to offenses committed on or after December 1, 2011, are described below. Murder of an Unborn Child. G.S. 14-23.2. A person commits this offense when he or she (1) unlawfully (2) causes the death of an unborn child (3) (a) by willfully and maliciously committing an act with the intent to cause the death of the unborn child, (b) in perpetration or attempted perpetration of any of the criminal offenses set forth under G.S. 14‑17, or (c) commits an act causing the death of the unborn child that is inherently dangerous to human life and is done so recklessly and wantonly that it reflects disregard of life. Elements (3)(a) through (c) are alternate ways to commit this offense. If Elements (3)(a) or (b) are present, the offense is a Class A felony punished with life in prison without parole. G.S. 14-23.2(b). If Element (3)(c) is present, it is punished as a Class B2 felony. Id. It is not clear whether Element (3)(b) is meant to refer only to first- and second-degree murder as described in G.S. 14-17, only to the felonies identified in G.S. 14-17 that support first-degree felony-murder, or both. Element (3)(c) seems to be similar to one of the forms of [...]
Faculty Coordinators
