Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 94 views

    People vs. Samson G.R. No. 214883, September 2, 2015: Version of The Defense

    Uploaded by

    Jhay Carbonel
    Cristina Samson was convicted of parricide for killing her husband Gerry Delmar. She claimed self-defense, saying Gerry was drunk and threatening her with a knife. The prosecution said Cristina grabbed the knife and stabbed Gerry. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cristina, finding that she reasonably believed her life was in danger when Gerry continued approaching her after she took the knife. Even though Gerry was unarmed at that point, his stronger size could have allowed him to overpower Cristina and kill her. Cristina's act of pushing Gerry away to seize the opportunity to save herself was a proportional response to the threat, not a provocation. The Court acquitted Cristina

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    People vs. Samson G.R. No. 214883, September 2, 2015: Version of The Defense

    Uploaded by

    Jhay Carbonel
    94 views2 pages
    Cristina Samson was convicted of parricide for killing her husband Gerry Delmar. She claimed self-defense, saying Gerry was drunk and threatening her with a knife. The prosecution said Cristina grabbed the knife and stabbed Gerry. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cristina, finding that she reasonably believed her life was in danger when Gerry continued approaching her after she took the knife. Even though Gerry was unarmed at that point, his stronger size could have allowed him to overpower Cristina and kill her. Cristina's act of pushing Gerry away to seize the opportunity to save herself was a proportional response to the threat, not a provocation. The Court acquitted Cristina

    Original Title

    People-vs.-Samson-Requisites-of-Self-Defense

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Cristina Samson was convicted of parricide for killing her husband Gerry Delmar. She claimed self-defense, saying Gerry was drunk and threatening her with a knife. The prosecution said Cristina grabbed the knife and stabbed Gerry. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cristina, finding that she reasonably believed her life was in danger when Gerry continued approaching her after she took the knife. Even though Gerry was unarmed at that point, his stronger size could have allowed him to overpower Cristina and kill her. Cristina's act of pushing Gerry away to seize the opportunity to save herself was a proportional response to the threat, not a provocation. The Court acquitted Cristina

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    94 views2 pages

    People vs. Samson G.R. No. 214883, September 2, 2015: Version of The Defense

    Uploaded by

    Jhay Carbonel
    Cristina Samson was convicted of parricide for killing her husband Gerry Delmar. She claimed self-defense, saying Gerry was drunk and threatening her with a knife. The prosecution said Cristina grabbed the knife and stabbed Gerry. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cristina, finding that she reasonably believed her life was in danger when Gerry continued approaching her after she took the knife. Even though Gerry was unarmed at that point, his stronger size could have allowed him to overpower Cristina and kill her. Cristina's act of pushing Gerry away to seize the opportunity to save herself was a proportional response to the threat, not a provocation. The Court acquitted Cristina

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    People vs.

    Samson
    G.R. No. 214883, September 2, 2015

    Facts:

    Cristina Samson was convicted by Regional Trial Court for parricide committed against her husband,
    Gerry Delmar. The Court of Appeals affirmed the RTC’s decision.

    Appellant Cristina Samson and victim Gerry Delmar were married with two daughters. The couple
    lived in their own house which is just adjacent to the house of appellant's family. On June 27, 2002,
    Cristina was in their house watching television together with her children when Gerry who was
    drunk at that time, arrived. He asked for his dinner but she was not able to cook food which led to an
    altercation.

    Version of the Defense

    Gerry pointed a knife at Cristina's neck. She begged him not to hurt her but he continued pointing
    the knife and told her to stop talking or otherwise, he will put a hole in her neck. Then, he slapped
    her face twice. While he was still holding the knife, she pushed him and he fell on the ground. She
    took the knife which he was holding and begged him not to come near her. She was holding the
    knife near her chest pointed at him when he suddenly grabbed her and that was the time that the
    knife went in contact with his chest. He was brought to the hospital but he died.

    Version of the Prosecution

    Cristine, the youngest daughter of the appellant and the victim, narrated that she witnessed the
    fight between her parents, that as the fight escalated, appellant was able to get hold of the knife
    which was placed on the roof and stabbed the victim. The victim fell on the ground and crawled until
    he reached the door. Cristine remembered that people arrived in their home, helped the victim
    board a tricycle and brought him to the hospital.

    Issue:

    Whether or not the CA erred in not appreciating the justifying circumstance of self-defense in favor
    of Cristina.

    Ruling:

    Yes. The Court hesitates to share the observation of the RTC and the CA that Cristina failed to
    discharge the burden of proving that unlawful aggression was present when she killed her husband.
    The Court can neither sustain the trial court's observation that it was Cristina who provoked her
    husband when she suddenly pushed him.

    First, it must be noted that after she was able to take hold of the knife from her husband, he did not
    stand down but, instead, continued to move towards her despite her plea that he should not come
    nearer. He grabbed her by the arm which could have precipitated her well-grounded belief that her
    life was still in danger if he would be able to wrest the weapon from her. It was not farfetched to
    presume that, being stronger, he could have easily overpowered her and eventually killed her.

    Second, the fact that Gerry was no longer armed does not negate the reasonableness of the means
    employed by Cristina. Perfect equality between the weapon used by the one defending himself and
    that of the aggressor is not required. What the law requires is a rational equivalence, in the
    consideration of which will enter as principal factors the emergency, the imminent danger to which
    the accused is exposed, and the instinct more than reason, that moves or impels his defense; and
    the proportionateness thereof does not depend upon the harm done, but upon the imminent
    danger of such injury.

    Lastly, her shoving him cannot be considered a sufficient provocation proportionate to the act of
    aggression. She merely capitalized on a window of opportunity, when her husband removed the
    knife away from her throat, to save herself from what she had perceived to be a danger to her life.
    Anybody, in her situation would have acted in the same reasonable way.

    The accused-appellant, Cristina Samson, is ACQUITTED of the crime charged.

    You might also like