In criminal law, lying in wait refers to the act of hiding and waiting for an individual with the intent to kill or inflict serious bodily harm to that person.[1] Because lying in wait involves premeditation, some jurisdictions have established that lying in wait is considered an aggravating circumstance that allows for the imposition of harsher criminal penalties.[1][2]
History
editScholars have traced the origins of this doctrine as far back as 1389, when the English Parliament passed a law that denied the right of pardon to individuals who killed while lying in wait.[3][4]
In the United States
editIn 1794, Pennsylvania passed a law that defined first degree murder as "[a]ll murder which shall be perpetrated ... by lying in wait".[5]
In the United States of America, some states modeled their penal codes after the Pennsylvania law, but by the beginning of the twenty-first century, only four states identified "lying in wait" as a "death qualifying act".[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Lying in wait" (PDF). Black's Law Dictionary. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ See also H. Mitchell Caldwell, The Prostitution of Lying in Wait, 57 U. Miami L. Rev. 311, 313 (2003) (discussing application of special circumstances when criminal defendants lie in wait).
- ^ H. Mitchell Caldwell, The Prostitution of Lying in Wait, 57 U. Miami L. Rev. 311, 313 (2003) (citing 13 Rich. 2, c.l (1389)).
- ^ Pardon of Offences Act 1389, 13 Rich. II St. 2 c. 1
- ^ Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624, 641-42 n.8 (1991) (internal citations and quotations omitted) (discussing origins of doctrine).
- ^ H. Mitchell Caldwell, The Prostitution of Lying in Wait, 57 U. Miami L. Rev. 311, 313 (2003) (identifying California, Colorado, Indiana, and Montana).
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