State v. Williams case brief

 

• State v. Williams- ∆ had a son from a previous marriage. When the boy (17 months old) developed a toothache neither thought it was serious enough to call a doctor. As the tooth became worse and abscessed, the ∆s became apprehensive but didn’t seek medical care for the child fearing that the welfare dept. would take him away. Eventually the boy developed gangrene (w/ a nasty smell), pneumonia, and died
  • Where the failure of a person to act while under the duty to do so is the proximate cause of the death of another, that person may be convicted of involuntary manslaughter, even though his conduct was no more than ordinary negligence.
  • Ordinary negligence may arise either by act or omission while under a duty to act.
    • This objective standard runs the risk of undermining individualized justice by sanctioning punishment, regardless of the subjective knowledge of the wrongdoer