Gibson v. State
476 P.2d 362, 1970 OK CR 171 (1970)
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Rule of Law:
A passenger's act of seizing the steering wheel of a moving vehicle and steering it into oncoming traffic, causing a fatal collision, constitutes murder when perpetrated by an act imminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, regardless of a premeditated design to kill.
Facts:
- On July 29, 1968, Marvin R. Gibson, Jr., while AWOL from the U.S. Army, was found unconscious in a cafe due to the influence of narcotics and alcohol.
- The following morning, Gibson was arrested by the Cushing Police Department for burglary.
- Gibson was placed in the back seat of a police car with another prisoner, Jack Howell, for transport to the Payne County Jail.
- The vehicle was driven by Deputy Sheriff Jerry Beall, with Police Chief O. O. Rowden in the front passenger seat.
- During the transport, Gibson lunged from the back seat, grabbed the steering wheel from Deputy Beall, and steered the car across the centerline of the highway.
- The police car collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle.
- Deputy Sheriff Beall died as a result of the injuries sustained in the collision.
Procedural Posture:
- Marvin R. Gibson, Jr. was charged with Murder in the District Court of Payne County, Oklahoma (trial court).
- Following a trial, a jury convicted Gibson of Murder.
- The trial court sentenced Gibson to life imprisonment at hard labor.
- Gibson appealed his conviction and sentence to the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals.
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Issue:
Does a passenger's act of seizing control of a moving vehicle's steering wheel and causing a fatal collision constitute murder under a statute defining it as an act 'imminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind'?
Opinions:
Majority - Bussey, Judge
Yes. A passenger's act of seizing the steering wheel of a moving vehicle and causing a fatal collision constitutes murder under the statute. The court reasoned that such an act is a modern equivalent of classic examples of depraved-mind murder, such as riding a horse into a crowd. The court held that steering a speeding vehicle into the path of another is an act so imminently dangerous that the 'resulting injuries which are sure to follow from such a dangerous act evince a depraved mind' and fall squarely within the statute. The court also found that voluntary admissions made by the defendant to officers while in custody but not during an interrogation are admissible and do not violate Miranda. Finally, the court concluded that an instruction on the lesser-included offense of manslaughter was not required, as premeditation is not an element of this type of murder and the defendant's defense was that he did not grab the wheel at all, making the choice for the jury one between murder and acquittal.
Analysis:
This case is significant for its modernization of the 'depraved mind' or 'depraved heart' murder doctrine, applying it directly to the context of automobiles. It establishes that an act of extreme recklessness demonstrating a conscious disregard for human life can be legally equivalent to an intentional killing, even without a specific intent to kill a particular individual. This precedent clarifies that the focus of the inquiry is the inherent danger of the act itself, providing a clear basis for prosecutors to charge murder in cases involving vehicular homicide caused by extraordinarily reckless behavior rather than mere negligence.
