Fisher v. State
786 A.2d 706, 367 Md. 218 (2001) (2001)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
A homicide that occurs during the perpetration of a felony not enumerated in the first-degree murder statutes constitutes second-degree felony murder under Maryland common law. To qualify as a predicate felony, the offense must be inherently dangerous to human life, a determination made by examining either the nature of the felony itself or the manner and circumstances of its commission in the particular case.
Facts:
- Mary Utley lived with her daughters, Rose Mary Fisher, fifteen-year-old Georgia Fisher, and nine-year-old Rita Fisher.
- In November 1995, Rose Mary Fisher's boyfriend, Frank Scarpola, moved into the residence.
- Over the following years, Utley, Fisher, and Scarpola subjected Georgia and Rita to escalating and severe physical abuse, neglect, and torture.
- The abuse included regular beatings, being locked for days in a basement toilet stall called 'the hole' with little food or water, and being prevented from accessing food by a lock on the refrigerator.
- For five consecutive days leading up to Rita's death, the girls were locked in their bedroom, where Rita was forced to sleep on a wooden floor.
- The night before she died, Scarpola tied Rita's hands and feet to furniture with shoestrings and taped her mouth shut when she cried out.
- On June 25, 1997, Rita Fisher was found unresponsive and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
- The medical examiner determined Rita's cause of death was dehydration and malnutrition, and an autopsy revealed extensive injuries including multiple bone fractures, internal bleeding, and ligature marks.
Procedural Posture:
- Mary Utley and Rose Mary Fisher were charged with murder and child abuse in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County, a trial court.
- Following a trial, a jury convicted both Utley and Fisher of second-degree murder on a felony murder theory, with child abuse as the underlying felony.
- The jury also convicted them on multiple counts of child abuse and conspiracy, and the trial court imposed sentences.
- Utley and Fisher appealed to the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, an intermediate appellate court.
- The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the trial court's judgments.
- Mary Utley and Rose Mary Fisher (petitioners) successfully petitioned the Court of Appeals of Maryland (the state's highest court) for a writ of certiorari to review the decision.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does Maryland common law recognize second-degree felony murder for a death occurring during the commission of a felony not listed in the first-degree murder statutes, such as child abuse?
Opinions:
Majority - Rodowsky, J.
Yes. Maryland common law recognizes the doctrine of second-degree felony murder based on felonies not enumerated in the first-degree murder statutes. The court held that Maryland's statutes dividing murder into degrees did not abrogate the common law of murder but merely graded it for punishment purposes. Therefore, felonies other than those listed can serve as predicates for a murder conviction, which would be classified as second-degree murder. The court rejected the argument that only common law felonies could qualify and instead adopted the majority rule for determining whether a felony is sufficiently dangerous to life. This test allows a court to consider not only the abstract elements of the felony but also the manner and circumstances of its commission. Applying this test, the court found that the sustained and severe child abuse inflicted upon Rita Fisher was inherently dangerous to human life, making it a proper predicate for a second-degree felony murder conviction.
Concurring-in-part-and-dissenting-in-part - Bloom, J.
Yes. The author concurred with the majority's holding that Maryland recognizes second-degree felony murder and that child abuse can serve as the predicate felony. However, the author dissented from the majority's decision to uphold the separate sentences for the underlying child abuse convictions. The dissent argued that under the principles of double jeopardy and merger, the underlying felony (child abuse) is a lesser included offense of the felony murder and should merge into the murder conviction. Because the jury did not specify which instance of child abuse formed the predicate for the murder conviction, both child abuse convictions should merge, and the separate sentences for them should be vacated as illegal.
Analysis:
This landmark decision formally establishes the existence of second-degree felony murder in Maryland, clarifying a previously unsettled area of state criminal law. By adopting the fact-specific 'manner of commission' test over the rigid 'in the abstract' test, the court significantly broadened the potential application of the felony murder doctrine. This holding provides prosecutors with a powerful tool in cases of fatal child abuse and other felonies where intent to kill is absent but the underlying conduct creates a foreseeable risk of death. The decision aligns Maryland with the majority of American jurisdictions and emphasizes deterring dangerous felonious conduct that results in homicide.
Unlock the full brief for Fisher v. State