ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the causation requirements necessary to convict someone of murder. In addition to being culpable for someone’s death, one must be found liable for that person’s death, meaning that their actions caused the death beyond a reasonable doubt. The chapter begins with the case of D.C. Stephenson, a KKK Grand Wizard who repeatedly rapes and threatens to kill a young woman. When the woman killed herself to end her suffering, a jury eventually found that because her desire to die was brought about by Stephenson’s actions, he is criminally liable for her death. The chapter then reveals the case of Lori Drew, a woman who was not found criminally liable for the death of a young girl who committed suicide after being harassed online by Drew. The chapter discusses the two legal requirements for establishing causation (the factual cause requirement and the proximate cause requirement), reveals the diversity in state causation requirements, and discusses how causation legal doctrines align with or conflict with community intuitions of justice.
