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Involuntary intoxication
Alcohol use is not a reason or excuse for criminality according to the law of crime. Alcohol alters the mental state of a person making the person make decisions intended or unintended. Various countries handle murder due to intoxication differently, where some offenders are freed and charged innocent. According to the legal laws of the USA, any person who commits crime out of voluntary intoxication has been accused of guilty. Most criminals hide behind the influence of drugs and other substances in committing a crime. Cases on poisoning are held different where persons intoxicated out of consent, for instance, drugged, are considered and depended. An example of such a crime is the case that Bob offered vodka instead of water before driving.
Bob attorney’s claim against the judge that it is unconstitutional to give Bob a severe punishment because Bob knowingly did not drink enough. (Piel, Jennifer. Page 321-328). Bob, from the word go, knew that driving while intoxicated was wrong. Therefore, Bob decided to take two bottles, which could not have affected his mental judgment. According to state laws, Persons who intentional drink to commit a crime are charged guilty, for instance, an angry husband drinking heavily to face the wife and kill the wife. According to Bob’s case, drinking was not in any way, intentional. Bob knew that getting intoxicated was wrong before even deciding to drink.
According to law, it was unlawful of Bob to drive while intoxicated, but various considerations have adhered. For example, Bob was not aware that vodka was offered instead of water, meaning Bob was intoxicated without his consent. The act was unlawful intoxication. Therefore, the crime committed was involuntary manslaughter. (Brooks, Thom page138-146). Involuntary intoxication is justified when the defendant did not intend to commit the crime. Defendant left on a poor state of mind to face conviction as well as the effect on the defendant’s mental state to distinguish between right and wrong.
Bob’s intoxication was not a defense mechanism in any situation. Most criminals take alcohol as a defense mechanism towards the planned crime. Bob was not aware of the people he killed before going to the bank therefore the action was not driven by agitation. Intoxicated driving is fatal and incidents such as accidents occur more during intoxicated driving. Most of the drunk drivers are innocent where intoxication was out of consent. Before offering judgments, factors such as intent, involuntary intoxication, defense mechanism as well as mental state are considered.
Work cited
Brooks, Thom. “Involuntary intoxication: a new six-step procedure.” The Journal of Criminal Law 79.2 (2015): 138-146.
Piel, Jennifer. “The defense of involuntary intoxication by prescribed medications: An appellate case review.” Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online 43.3 (2015): 321-328.
