George Benjamin FORD, Jr. v. Pearl Rose Holland FORD.
No. 91, Sept. Term, 1985.
Court of Appeals of Maryland.
July 25, 1986.
512 A.2d 389 | 105
Argued before SMITH, ELDRIDGE, COLE, RODOWSKY, COUCH and McAULIFFE, JJ., and CHARLES E. ORTH, Jr., Associate Judge of the Court of Appeals (retired), Specially Assigned.
CHARLES E. ORTH, Jr., Judge, Specially Assigned.
I
Pearl Rose Ford murdered her mother, Muriel L. Holland, by stabbing her some 40 times. She wrapped the body in plastic garbage bags and deposited it in the backyard of her home. She now seeks to obtain the property left her under her mother‘s will. George Benjamin Ford, Jr., her son, asserts that Pearl forfeited her entitlement to the property by the matricide and claims the property as the alternative beneficiary named in the will. The Orphans’ Court for Anne Arundel County, in which the will was admitted to probate, ruled that George “be declared the heir” of the estate. The Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County, on appeal by Pearl to it, decided that Pearl was entitled to the property. We ordered that a writ of certiorari be issued to the Court of Special Appeals, to which George appealed, before decision by that court.
II
The Maryland Legislature has not enacted a “slayer‘s” statute establishing what principles govern when a person kills another and would be tangibly enriched by the death. This Court, however, has addressed the matter in three of its decisions: Price v. Hitaffer, 164 Md. 505, 165 A. 470 (1933); Chase v. Jenifer, 219 Md. 564, 150 A.2d 251 (1959); and Schifanelli v. Wallace, 271 Md. 177, 315 A.2d 513 (1974). Through these cases the Court has created in the common law of this State, the equivalent of a “slayer‘s”
Price concerned an appeal from an Orphans’ Court order passed in the administration of the estate of an intestate. The order excluded from participation in the distribution of the estate the heirs or personal representatives of the husband of the deceased, who, it was admitted and proved, shot and killed his wife and almost immediately thereafter committed suicide. The question before this Court was:
Can a murderer, or his heirs and representatives through him, be enriched by taking any portion of the estate of the one murdered? 164 Md. at 506,
165 A. 470 .
The Court dealt with the question as one of first impression in Maryland and noted the conflicting decisions of other courts of last resort in this country. The decisions at that time represented two views.
One line of decisions apply the common-law principle of equity that no one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud, to take advantage of his own wrong, to found any claim upon his own iniquity, or to acquire property by his own crime, and hold that provisions of a will and the statutes of descent and distribution should be interpreted in the light of those universally recognized principles of justice and morality; that such interpretation is justified and compelled by the public policy embraced in those principles or maxims, which must control the interpretation of law, statutes, and contracts. The other and opposite view, as expressed in those decisions which reach a different conclusion, is that, while they recognize the public policy of the common law as declared in the principles and equitable maxims above set forth, such public policy founded upon the common law has been abrogated and denied, and a new and different public policy declared by the Legislature in the enactment of statutes to direct descents and distribution, or governing the execution and effect of testamentary disposition. Some of the courts in the last mentioned group also rely upon constitutional or statutory declarations to the effect that conviction of
The Court fully discussed the two views and forcefully rejected any view which would “result in sanctioning the enrichment of the perpetrator of the most heinous murder from the estate of his victim.” Id. at 516-517,
Suffice it to say that we decline to follow the reasoning supporting any interpretation fraught with consequences so pernicious and so abhorrent to the sense of justice, equity, and morality entertained by what we are pleased to believe is the overwhelming majority of thoughtful and moral people, but prefer to give expression and adherence to the principles and reasoning so forcibly presented by those courts who have in the past adopted the views ... expressed [in the common law]. Id. at 517,
165 A. 470 .
We observed in Chase v. Jenifer, 219 Md. at 567, 150 A.2d 251, that the decision in Price, which “was rested upon the maxim that one cannot profit by his own wrong, and on a broad ground of public policy of the common law,” was perhaps not then supported by a majority of the courts dealing with the question. “Nevertheless,” we declared, “we regard the decision of the Maryland Court [in Price] as settled law.” Chase, 219 Md. at 567, 150 A.2d 251. Thus, it is the basic rule of this State that a murderer, or his heirs or representatives through him, ordinarily may not profit by taking any portion of the estate of the one murdered.
The Court in Price indicated that “the equitable maxims of the common law” which it followed in answering the question before it, would apply not only in the case of intestacy but equally to benefits by way of wills and life insurance policies. 164 Md. at 516,
In Schifanelli v. Wallace, 271 Md. 177, 315 A.2d 513, we were presented with virtually the same question we did not reach in Chase—whether the named beneficiary under a life insurance policy is precluded from collecting the proceeds by reason of the fact that he unintentionally killed his wife, the insured; the homicide was the result of gross negligence. We found that “the overwhelming weight of
[t]he rule which prevents a beneficiary who has intentionally killed the insured from recovering on an insurance policy is grounded on the public policy against permitting a wilful and felonious killer to profit by his felony. Thus, it has no application where even though the acts of the beneficiary cause death, they are without the intent to do so, Tippens v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 99 F.2d 671 (5th Cir.1938) supra; where the death is the result of accident, or even when caused by such gross negligence on the part of the beneficiary that he is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, the beneficiary may still recover, Commercial Travelers Mutual Acc. Ass‘n v. Witte, 406 S.W.2d 145 (Ky.1966) supra; the basic rule is that while a beneficiary cannot recover where the death of the insured has been intentionally caused by his act, if it is the result of carelessness and is not intentional, the beneficiary‘s rights under the policy are not barred.... Id. [271 Md.] at 188-189,
315 A.2d 513 (citations omitted).
We held that the husband (the beneficiary) was not barred from recovering the policy proceeds merely because the death of his wife (the insured) “was the result of his gross negligence where that determination was accompanied by an express finding that the death was caused unintentionally.” Id. at 189,
As established by Price, Chase and Schifanelli, the present status of the law of Maryland is:
- A person who kills another
- may not share in the distribution of the decedent‘s estate as an heir by way of statutes of descent and distribution, or as a devisee or legatee under the decedent‘s will, nor may he collect the proceeds as a beneficiary under a policy of insurance on the decedent‘s life when the homicide is felonious and intentional;
- may share in the distribution of the decedent‘s estate as an heir by way of statutes of descent and distribution, or as a devisee or legatee under the decedent‘s will and may collect the proceeds as a beneficiary under a policy of insurance on the decedent‘s life when the homicide is unintentional even though it is the result of such gross negligence as would render the killer criminally guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
- may not share in the distribution of the decedent‘s estate as an heir by way of statutes of descent and distribution, or as a devisee or legatee under the decedent‘s will, nor may he collect the proceeds as a beneficiary under a policy of insurance on the decedent‘s life when the homicide is felonious and intentional;
- These principles apply not only to the killer but to those claiming through or under him.
- The disposition of a criminal cause is not conclusive of the character of the homicide or of the criminal agency of the putative killer in a civil proceeding concerning entitlement to assets of the decedent.
- It is not dispositive that no criminal prosecution was brought against the alleged killer, or that charges against him were dismissed on constitutional, statutory or procedural grounds or otherwise, or that, upon a criminal trial. he was found not guilty for whatever reason, or was convicted of murder in the first or second degree or of manslaughter.
- In the determination of who is entitled to the assets of the decedent, whether the alleged killer was the criminal agent and whether the homicide was intentional and felonious or unintentional is a function within the ambit of the civil proceeding. In short, the lack of or result of a criminal proceeding is not res judicata in a subsequent civil action.
III
It is not disputed that Pearl killed her mother and that under the criminal law she was guilty of first degree murder in that the homicide was “wilful, deliberate and premeditated.”
The Maryland Legislature has substantially changed the definition and consequences of “criminal insanity” from the concept of the common law evidenced by the M‘Naghten-Spencer rule. See Acts 1967, ch. 709; Acts 1970, ch. 407; Acts 1982, ch. 21; Acts 1984, ch. 501; see also, Pouncey v. State, supra; Langworthy v. State, 284 Md. 588, 399 A.2d 578 (1979), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 960, 101 S.Ct. 1419, 67 L.Ed.2d 384 (1981); Spencer v. State, 69 Md. 28, 13 A. 809 (1888); Young v. State, 14 Md.App. 538, 288 A.2d 198 (1972). The M‘Naghten-Spencer test of responsibility for criminal conduct came to be expressed as whether the accused had the capacity and reason to distinguish between right and wrong and understand the nature and consequences of his acts as applied to himself. Bradford v. State, 234 Md. 505, 510, 200 A.2d 150 (1964). Under this test, mens rea cannot exist without sanity. In other words, insanity as defined under M‘Naghten-Spencer “involves the mens rea or intent which is an essential element of the offense which the State must prove.” Id. at 514,
The statutory definition of “criminal insanity” which supplanted the M‘Naghten-Spencer test, is, as in effect today and at the time Pearl murdered her mother, that
[a] defendant is not criminally responsible for criminal conduct if, at the time of that conduct, the defendant, because of a mental disorder or mental retardation, lacks substantial capacity:
- To appreciate the criminality of that conduct; or
- To conform that conduct to the requirements of law.5
Md.Code (1982, 1985 Cum.Supp.) § 12-108 (a) of the Health-General Article .
We have declared that, unlike a finding of insanity under the M‘Naghten-Spencer test, under the statutory test the clear legislative intent regarding the successful interposition of a plea of insanity is not that an accused is to be found not guilty of the criminal act it was proved he committed, but that he shall not be punished therefor. Langworthy, 284 Md. at 598,
We noted in Langworthy that a finding that a defendant was insane at the time of the commission of the crime under the statutory test did not mean that there was no crime thereby establishing a lack of mens rea. We thought that neither prong of the test “is necessarily at variance with a general intent to commit a crime.” Id. at 599 n.12,
The comments of the Governor‘s Task Force to Review the Defense of Insanity, which proposed the legislation enacted by Acts 1984, ch. 501, support this view. With respect to the test for insanity set out in
The traditional theory that an insanity defense if proved means that the defendant was mentally incapable of forming criminal intent is not an established fact under the definition of criminal responsibility in
§ 12-108 of [the Health-General Article] . “... as presently defined, neither prong of the insanity defense—either lack of capacity ‘[t]o appreciate the criminality of one‘s conduct’ [§ 12-108(a)(1) of this title ] or the lack of capacity ‘[t]o conform that conduct to the requirements of law’ [§ 12-108(a)(2) of this title ]—is necessarily inconsistent with general criminal intent. Second, the volitional prong—the lack of capacity ‘[t]o conform one‘s conduct to the requirements of law’ [§ 12-108(a)(2) of this title ]—does not necessarily affect the person‘s ability to form a particular specific criminal intent.” Code (1982, 1985 Cum.Supp.) Task Force Comment following§ 12-109 of the Health-General Art. at p. 110 (emphasis in original).
If the trier of fact finds that the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the criminal act charged, then, if the defendant has pleaded not criminally responsible, the trier of fact separately shall find, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether the defendant was at the time criminally responsible or not criminally responsible by reason of insanity under the test for criminal responsibility....
This provision, according to the Task Force, merely clarifies the current state law. “[T]he trier of fact first determines whether the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt all the elements of the crime. The determination is made before considering the plea of not criminally responsible.” Code (1982, 1985 Cum. Supp.) Task Force Comment to
The legislature, however, has not seen fit to remove all consequences of committing a criminal act while insane, e.g., the defendant may be held in a mental institution until it is determined that a release would not constitute a danger to the individual or to the person or property of others.... There is thus no support for the view that noncriminal collateral consequences are in all circumstances inconsistent with guilty but insane verdicts. 297 Md. at 270,
465 A.2d 475 (citation omitted).
This view is also supported by the Task Force. Its Comment to
IV
Pearl Rose Ford went to trial before a jury in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County on pleas of not guilty and “not guilty by reason of insanity.” While the jury was deliberating its verdicts (four days were consumed before the case went to the jury) she “moved to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity.” The court accepted the plea and took the case from the jury. A docket entry reads that Pearl “waived right to jury in open Court” and reflects the verdicts rendered by the judge in these words:
Finding: That there was sufficient evidence to establish the defendant‘s guilt if sane. That the defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity.
The court committed her to the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for examination and evaluation and subsequently ordered that she be treated on an in-patient basis at Crownsville Hospital Center until further order.7 Although the verdicts as rendered could have been better expressed in light of the existing law, we are satisfied that to all intent and purpose, they were in accord with the required procedure as the equivalent of “Guilty of murder in the first degree” and “Not criminally responsible by reason of
V
The orderly way for the civil proceeding in the circuit court9 to be conducted in circumstances comparable to those here would be for the claimant to establish prima facie his entitlement to the property by proving the validity of the will and his designation as legatee. Then the burden would shift to the person protesting his claim. The protester would attempt to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the claimant had killed the testator and that the homicide was felonious and intentional, so that under
In the case sub judice the validity of the will was established by its admission in probate, and the entitlement of Pearl was prima facie shown by her designation in the will as a beneficiary. It was undisputed that Pearl was the criminal agent in the first degree murder of her mother and that at the time of the matricide she was criminally insane. The judge presiding at the civil proceeding accepted those facts as undisputed. He recognized that he was not bound by the verdicts of the criminal court. Then he went astray however. He believed that because Pearl was criminally “insane” at the time of the killing, no crime was committed. He correctly observed that Pearl had been indicted for murder in the first degree. That the charge entailed willfulness, deliberation and premeditation, and that in order to prove those elements “the State must prove that the Defendant had ‘the actual intent, the fully formed purpose to kill‘....” But then he said that “[i]nsanity involves the mens rea or intent, which is an essential element of a crime.” He concluded: “Mrs. Ford, who was insane at the time of the killing, was incapable of forming the requisite intent for first degree murder.” It is clear that this conclusion was based solely on the fact that Pearl lacked substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of her conduct or to conform that conduct to the requirements of law. In other words, the judge believed that the fact that a person was criminally insane, as now defined, at the time of the commission of an offense was necessarily inconsistent with criminal intent. This concept led inescapably to the result
As we have seen, for the slayer‘s rule to be invoked the killing must have been both felonious and intentional. We have found that it is a function of the trier of fact in a civil proceeding regarding the entitlement of the assets of a decedent alleged to have been killed by a claimant to make an independent determination of the corpus delicti of the crime. The trier of fact must decide on a preponderance of the evidence whether the manner of the decedent‘s death was homicide, whether the homicide was murder or manslaughter and whether the claimant was the criminal agent. Unlike a criminal prosecution, the civil proceeding does not call for a determination of the degree of murder. Both first and second degree murder are per se felonious and intentional. The civil inquiry, however, must go a step further than is necessary in a criminal prosecution if the finding is that the homicide is manslaughter. See Connor v. State, 225 Md. 543, 558-559, 171 A.2d 699, cert. denied, 368 U.S. 906, 82 S.Ct. 186, 7 L.Ed.2d 100 (1961). Then the trier of fact in the civil proceeding must ascertain whether the manslaughter was voluntary or involuntary. Manslaughter generally, be it voluntary or involuntary, is a felony.
All the above determinations are to be made on the assumption that the claimant was responsible for his crimi-
Our decision in Schifanelli supports the propriety of this view. In that case we held that the slayer‘s rule did not apply to bar a killer when the homicide was involuntary manslaughter and therefore unintentional, even though the felon was sane, fully responsible for his criminal conduct and convicted and punished therefore. Certainly a killer who is not responsible for his criminal conduct and as a matter of public policy cannot be punished, is no more culpable than a killer under the circumstances of Schifanelli.
Our view is not in conflict with the maxims which support the slayer‘s rule which we have judicially adopted. The rule is based upon principles of equity, justice and morality and on a broad ground of the public policy of the common law.
The result that we reach is in complete accord with the decisions of our sister states which have addressed the problem. Forty-three other states have adopted by legislative enactment a slayer‘s rule comparable in effect to our rule, and several have embraced such a rule through its case law. See Appendix A. We find that the courts in only 16 of those states, however, have construed the rule, in rendering a decision or by way of obiter dictum, in light of
We reach the same conclusion as did the circuit court but by a different route. Even though the court below did not march to the beat of the same drummer as do we in arriving at a decision, it is the judgment of the court that we review, not the reasons set out in its opinion, even though they may be incorrect. We hold that the slayer‘s rule does not operate to preclude Pearl Rose Ford from inheriting under the will of her victim, Muriel L. Holland. The judgment of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County is affirmed.
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED; COSTS TO BE PAID BY GEORGE BENJAMIN FORD, JR.
APPENDIX A
Slayer‘s Statutes
APPENDIX B
Alabama—Although Alabama does not specifically address the issue of insanity, its Supreme Court quotes from a South Dakota case wherein the rule was cited as: “We think that the principle of sound public policy which demands that a sane, felonious killer should not profit by his crime should be applied as often as and whenever any claim is made by such killer, whether under contract, will or statute.” Weaver v. Hollis, 247 Ala. 57, 22 So.2d 525, 527 (1945) (quoting DeZotell v. Mutual Life Insurance Co., 60 S.D. 532, 245 N.W. 58, 65 (1932) (emphasis added)). The Weaver case was one of first impression in Alabama, hence, various foreign precedents were examined, including Price v. Hitaffer, 164 Md. 505, 165 A. 470 (1933). The Alabama court held that a husband, convicted of second degree murder, could not take an intestate share of his deceased wife‘s estate. The Alabama legislature later passed a slayer‘s statute precluding from taking one who “feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent.”
California—The California Court of Appeal specifically addressed the effect of a slayer‘s insanity in Estate of Ladd, 91 Cal.App.3d 219, 153 Cal.Rptr. 888 (1979). The slayer-mother was found guilty of the murder in the first degree of her two sons and insane at the time of the crimes’ commissions. The mother was committed to a state institution for treatment. The issue on appeal was whether the mother was precluded from inheriting from her deceased sons’ estates premised upon the California slayer‘s statute. The applicable statute precluded inheritance by one who “unlawfully and intentionally caused the death of the decedent....” (Note—the statutory language has since been changed to one “who feloniously and intentionally kills the decedent....”
The Court then examined the procedure at the criminal trial and concluded that despite the finding of guilt, there was no “conviction” for purposes of the slayer‘s statute. A “conviction” under the slayer‘s statute was deemed to be conclusive proof of “unlawfulness.”2 The court avoided the finding of a “conviction” by reasoning that there was no judgment pronounced thereafter; instead, the defendant was deemed to be insane and committed to a state hospital. Such action was construed to be an “acquittal” for purposes of the slayer‘s statute. Id. at 225. The court further reasoned that such a conclusion was consistent with the purpose of the insanity test; that is, determining who should not be held criminally responsible. Id. at 226. Insane persons are not of sound mind, and, accordingly, cannot act “intentionally” for purposes of the slayer‘s statute. Id.
Colorado—Although the Colorado courts have not specifically addressed the plight of an insane slayer, they have noted certain exceptions to slayer‘s statutes, including the
Florida—In Hill v. Morris, 85 So.2d 847 (Fla.Sup.Ct. 1956) the court addressed the following issue: “[W]hether or not a widow who has been duly acquitted, by reason of insanity, from a charge of murdering her husband is entitled as a matter of law to participate in his estate by way of dower.” 85 So.2d at 849. The slayer‘s statute in force at the time precluded inheritance by “any person convicted of the murder of a decedent....” (The legislature has since changed the statute to “a surviving person who unlawfully and intentionally kills or participates in procuring the death of the decedent....”
Illinois—The issue of an insane beneficiary‘s right to take the proceeds of the deceased‘s life insurance policy was addressed in Blair v. Travelers Insurance Co., 30 Ill.App.2d 191, 174 N.E.2d 209 (1961). The court held that the proceeds of the policy were not forfeited if the slayer was insane, citing the “humane rule that an insane killer is not a murderer.” 174 N.E.2d at 211 (citation omitted).
Indiana—In Turner v. Estate of Turner, 454 N.E.2d 1247 (1983) the Court of Appeals of Indiana permitted an insane slayer, who shot and killed his parents but was found to be not responsible by reason of insanity, to receive his intestate share of his parents’ estate and insurance proceeds. The court examined the trend of decisions permitting an insane slayer to inherit. “In finding Allen was insane, the jury in his criminal trial determined, in essence, that Allen lacked any wrongful intent when he killed his parents. Indeed, to quote from the applicable statute, Allen was found to lack the ‘substantial capacity either to appreciate the wrongfulness of the conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law’
The court limited itself to the verdict of not responsible by reason of insanity—noting that such plea had been stricken by the legislature and supplanted by “guilty but mentally ill.” Id. at 1249 n. 5. The slayer‘s statute was also amended to include one who is guilty but mentally ill. See
Minnesota—In a case decided outside of the slayer‘s statute, a slayer-husband was permitted to take, by way of survivorship, the property he held in joint tenancy with his deceased wife. Anderson v. Grasberg, 247 Minn. 538, 78 N.W.2d 450 (1956). The husband was deemed incompetent, hence, never tried in criminal court for his wife‘s shooting.
The court noted that Minnesota adheres to “the equitable doctrine that a person should not profit by his wrong;” and, to that end, a constructive trust may be imposed. “When the killer is insane, however, examination is necessary to determine whether the basis upon which the doctrine rests still exists.” 78 N.W.2d at 456. The court noted that insanity is recognized as a defense against criminal punishment “because, if the perpetrator is so mentally diseased
At the time of this case, Minnesota applied the M‘Naghten test for sanity. Id. at 457. See
Missouri—In Eisenhardt v. Siegel, 343 Mo. 22, 119 S.W.2d 810 (1938), the Supreme Court of Missouri addressed the issue of sanity in a title dispute. One brother, who was conceded to be insane at the time of the homicide, shot and killed his brother, thus triggering a reversion of title in certain property. The fact of the “murder” did not preclude the reversion for the reason that the slayer was insane. The defense of insanity, per M‘Naghten, eradicated the murder, i.e., since the slayer was insane there was no murder.
New Hampshire—In Kelley v. State, 105 N.H. 240, 196 A.2d 68 (1963) a husband convicted of first degree manslaughter was allowed to take property from his deceased wife when “the property she had at the time of her death
New Jersey—In Campbell v. Ray, 102 N.J.Super. 235, 245 A.2d 761 (1968), aff‘d mem., 107 N.J.Super. 509, 259 A.2d 473 (1969), aff‘d mem., 56 N.J. 52, 264 A.2d 441 (1970), the court addressed the issue of whether an insane slayer is entitled to insurance proceeds and an intestate share of her husband‘s estate. In answering this issue in the affirmative, the court noted that a constructive trust, applied to carry out the equitable doctrine that a person should not profit by his own wrong, is imposed to prevent unconscionability and unjust enrichment. 245 A.2d at 765. It is proper to inquire as to the doctrine‘s applicability if the slayer is insane. Id.
So in a case where one benefits from an unlawful act, such as a killing, committed without intent because of disease of the mind, it cannot be concluded that he perpetrated the act with the end in view of profitting thereby. In such circumstances, if it was not his will that the act be perpetrated, it does not seem proper for the law to conclude that he has committed a wrong such as to bar him from receiving benefits which arise solely because of the death of an individual which in fact was not intended.
New Jersey applies the M‘Naghten test in determining an accused‘s sanity. See
In a case decided after a slayer‘s statute was passed in New Jersey, an insane slayer was allowed to inherit from her husband‘s estate. In re Vadlamudi Estate, 183 N.J. Super. 342, 443 A.2d 1113 (1982). The wife, who killed her husband with an ax, was found not guilty by reason of insanity. 443 A.2d at 1114. The issue was whether the killing was “intentional” under the slayer‘s statute. (Note—the current statute requires that the killing be criminal and intentional, see
New York—There are several New York cases allowing the insane slayer to take. In re Eckhardt‘s Estate, 184 Misc. 748, 54 N.Y.S.2d 484 (1945) is the most often cited. Mrs. Eckhardt was acquitted of her husband‘s murder “upon the ground that she did not know at the time the nature and quality of her act and that at the time of the trial she was sane.” 54 N.Y.S.2d at 485. Initially, the court cited its adherence to the equitable maxim that “[n]o one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud, or to take advantage of his own wrong....” Id. at 487. The surrogate judge concluded “that legally the wife committed no wrong, not knowing at the time the nature and quality of her act and that therefore she is entitled to take as a distributee.” Id. at 490. The wife also retained title to jointly owned properties. Again, indicating that no legal wrong had been committed by the wife, “the principle barring one from profiting from his own wrongs is inapplicable.” Id. at 492. See also In re Estate of Wirth, 59 Misc.2d 300, 298 N.Y.S.2d 565 (1969). New York applies a somewhat modified version of M‘Naghten. See
North Carolina—In Quick v. United Benefit Life Ins. Co., 287 N.C. 47, 213 S.E.2d 563 (1975) the court addressed a wife‘s right to insurance proceeds following her conviction for involuntary manslaughter. In discussing a special
Pennsylvania—A wife who allegedly killed her husband, but found to be insane and hence never tried, was allowed to share in her husband‘s estate despite a slayer‘s statute. “Letha Hoffman is insane, incapable of being tried for crime, innocent in the eyes of the law, and we conclude entitled to share presently in her husband‘s estate.” Hoffman‘s Estate, 39 D. & C. 208, 209-10 (1940). Justice favors those who are presumptively innocent. The Pennsylvania insanity statute,
South Dakota—As previously indicated, herein under the Alabama heading, South Dakota‘s slayer‘s rule requires that the killer be “sane” for it to apply. DeZotell v. Mutual Life Insurance Co., 60 S.D. 532, 245 N.W. 58, 65 (1932).
Texas—An insane husband who shot and killed his wife was permitted to take his share of her estate and to collect the proceeds from her insurance policies. Simon v. Dibble, 380 S.W.2d 898 (Tex.Civ.App.1964). “The husband is insane, and therefore not capable of willfully taking the life of his wife.” 380 S.W.2d at 899. Texas applies the M‘Naghten test. See
Vermont—In In re Estate of Mahoney, 126 Vt. 31, 220 A.2d 475 (1966), in dictum, the Supreme Court of Vermont stated that the legal fiction of a constructive trust would not apply if the killer was insane. 220 A.2d at 478. The principle behind this approach is, again, that one should not profit by their own wrong, but that principle would not be applicable if the slayer was insane or had a vested interest
COLE, Judge, dissenting in which McAULIFFE, Judge, joins.
The majority holds that one who has wilfully, deliberately and with premeditation killed another may be enriched by inheriting from the victim‘s estate because the killer was found not to be criminally responsible for the murder by virtue of her insanity. In light of our state‘s recognition that insane criminals are guilty of the crimes they commit and are personally and morally responsible for those crimes, I find the majority‘s position to be untenable. I thus respectfully dissent.
This Court adopted “the slayer‘s rule” in Price v. Hitaffer, 164 Md. 505, 165 A. 470 (1933), on the basis that allowing a murderer to inherit from the estate of his victim is repugnant to public policy. The Court applied the equitable rule that “no one shall be permitted to profit by his own fraud, to take advantage of his own wrong, to found any claim upon his own iniquity or to acquire property by his own crime,” id. at 506 and 511, 165 A. 470, and held that a killer, by virtue of his murderous act, acquires no beneficial interest in the estate of his victim. Id. at 508, 165 A.2d 470.
As the majority recognizes in Part III of its opinion, an insane murderer who has been found to have acted with the requisite intent or mens rea has committed the crime of murder. See Langworthy v. State, 284 Md. 588, 399 A.2d 578 (1978); see also Pouncey v. State, 297 Md. 264, 465 A.2d 475 (1983). He is guilty, and his insanity neither justifies nor excuses his act. His misdeed is equally abhorrent as a murder committed by one sane, and although the criminal consequence—imprisonment—will be dispensed with, the murderer has not been forgiven.
Our legislature has clearly shown that the purpose of adjudging the killer‘s sanity is not to determine whether the
(a) Test—In general.—a defendant is not criminally responsible for criminal conduct if, at the time of that conduct, the defendant, because of a mental disorder or mental retardation, lacks substantial capacity:
(1) To appreciate the criminality of that conduct; or
(2) To conform that conduct to the requirements of the law. [Emphasis supplied.]
In its comment to § 12-108(a), the Governor‘s Task Force to Review the Defense of Insanity states:
the phrase “not criminally responsible” is substituted for the phrase “not responsible” [which appeared in the former test under § 12-107] as being a more accurate statement of the defendant‘s status under criminal law. The Task Force recommends the adoption of this term to make clear to the defendant, the jury, and to society that the defendant remains morally and personally responsible for committing criminal acts, but the State does not hold the defendant subject to criminal punishment, if this test is met. [Emphasis supplied.]
The reason that the insane murderer will not be criminally punished is that “the State has determined that it cannot morally punish the defendant.” Governor‘s Task Force to Review Defense of Insanity Report 30 (1984).
A dichotomy exists, then, between the moral responsibility of the State—which dictates that it should not imprison the insane murderer, and the moral responsibility which society expects from its citizens—which dictates that an insane murderer is responsible for his crime. We recognized this dichotomy in Pouncey v. State, supra. In Pouncey, the appellant, who had drowned her son because she believed him to be pursued by the devil, was found by the trial court to be both guilty of first degree murder and insane at the time of the offense. She appealed, alleging
that if she is burdened by a record of conviction of first degree murder, she will in a practical sense have been found responsible for her conduct; that the stigma of such a “conviction” punishes her for her conduct in that, among other things, it prohibits her from voting, from serving on a jury, from acquiring licenses or contracts, and also inhibits future employment opportunities since prospective employers will ascertain that she was found guilty of first degree murder.
In this Court‘s view, however, such results were not incongruous with a finding of insanity. The Court observed:
[A] finding of insanity is not tantamount to an absence of mens rea, or inconsistent with an intent to commit a crime. In drowning her child, the appellant specifically intended to kill him, and while her successful insanity defense means that she is not criminally responsible for her conduct, that determination merely relieves her of liability for punishment under the criminal law. No criminal sentence may ever be entered on the guilty verdict in this case and the appellant, therefore, does not stand “convicted” of the murder offense in the traditional sense of the criminal law. The legislature, however, has not seen fit to remove all consequences of committing a criminal act while insane, e.g., the defendant may be held in a mental institution until it has determined that a release would not constitute a danger to the
individual or to the person or property of others. § 12-114(b)(1)(ii) . There is thus no support for the view that non-criminal collateral consequences are in all circumstances inconsistent with guilty but insane verdicts.
Id. at 270, 465 A.2d at 478 (emphasis supplied). Thus, the Court recognized that the civil consequences of an insane criminal‘s act are not controlled by the fact that the person has received dispensation from criminal punishment.
Turning to the instant case, it is clear to me that the fact that the State cannot criminally punish an insane defendant is irrelevant to a determination of whether it is equitable for the killer to inherit from her victim. It is one thing to say that the State should not imprison one who was insane when she committed the murder. It is quite another to say that the insane murderer can profit from her crime. The only relevant focus here must be upon the killer‘s moral and personal responsibility for the crime.
As developed in Price v. Hitaffer, supra, Chase v. Jenifer, 219 Md. 564, 150 A.2d 251 (1958) and Schifanelli v. Wallace, 271 Md. 177, 315 A.2d 513 (1974), the operation of the “slayer‘s rule” requires two findings: that the killing was intentional and that it was committed “feloniously.” With respect to the first finding, our decisions in Pouncey and Langworthy, as well as the statute defining insanity, make clear that an insane person may have the intent requisite for the commission of the crime. As to the second finding, these cases and the statute also demonstrate that an insane killer can commit a felonious act. The majority acknowledges that a killing is felonious when the homicide committed is a felony. As indicated by Pouncey and Langworthy, an insane person can be found to possess the requisite mens rea, and thus can be found guilty of committing a felony. Indeed, as evidenced by our criminal responsibility statute, the existence of the crime itself is independent of a finding of insanity. The statute requires that the State prove beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crime before the issue of insanity is addressed. Thus, for
I believe that our prior readings of the criminal responsibility statute reaffirm this conclusion. In Pouncey and Langworthy, we stated that the legislative intent of the statute was not to negate the existence of the crime but to relieve the insane person of liability for punishment under the criminal law. Thus, a finding of insanity under the statute in no way diminishes the wrongfulness of the actor‘s conduct. Rather, it merely removes the possibility of criminal sanction. Because the actor‘s conduct remains wrongful notwithstanding the finding of insanity, the slayer‘s rule, in barring an individual from profiting from his own wrong, remains applicable.
I realize that the insane killer committed the crime either because she could not appreciate the criminality of her conduct or because she could not conform her conduct to the requirements of the law. But this reason for the killer‘s volition has no bearing upon the equitable principle embodied in the slayer‘s rule. If the insane killer has intentionally killed her victim, if she has acted with the required mens rea for the crime, she is personally and morally responsible for her wrong, and equity demands that she shall not benefit from the deed. It is repugnant to decency to say that an insane murderer can finance her rehabilitation with new found wealth from her victim‘s estate.
Finally, I note that each of the cases from other jurisdictions cited by the majority is distinguishable in that no case addresses the question under an insanity law similar to Maryland law. Most of the cases cited apply either the M‘Naughten standard or a similar test and hold that the “slayer‘s rule” does not apply either because a finding of insanity is tantamount to an acquittal, Estate of Ladd, 91 Cal.App.3d 219, 153 Cal.Rptr. 888 (1979); Hill v. Morris, 85 So.2d 847 (Fla.Sup.Ct.1956); In re Eckhardt‘s Estate, 184 Misc. 748, 54 N.Y.S.2d 484 (1945), or because an insane person cannot have the requisite intent for the murder, Estate of Ladd, supra, Turner v. Estate of Turner, 454 N.E.2d 1247 (Ind.App.1983); Anderson v. Grasberg, 247 Minn. 538, 78 N.W.2d 450 (1956); Kelley v. State, 105 N.H. 240, 196 A.2d 68 (1983); Campbell v. Ray, 102 N.J.Super 235, 245 A.2d 761 (1968), aff‘d mem. 107 N.J. Super 509, 259 A.2d 473 (1969), aff‘d mem., 56 N.J. 52, 264 A.2d 441 (1970); Quick v. United Benefit Life Ins. Co., 287 N.C. 47, 213 S.E.2d 563 (1973); Simon v. Dibble, 380 S.W.2d 898 (Tex.Civ.App.1964)). Other cases simply note that an insane killer is not a murderer, and thus the “slayer‘s rule” should not apply. See Blair v. Travelers Ins. Co., 30 Ill.App.2d 191, 174 N.E.2d 209 (1961); Eisenhardt v. Siegel, 343 Mo. 22, 119 S.W.2d 810 (1938); Hoffman‘s Estate, 39 D & C 208 (1940). In contrast, under Maryland law, a killer deemed to be insane is not acquitted of the crime, Langworthy, supra, the insane killer can be found to have the requisite intent for the crime, and the killer is in essence found to be guilty of committing that crime. We should not blindly follow those jurisdictions which base their holdings upon standards of insanity to which our legislature has shown its express intent not to adhere.
In conclusion, I note that because Pearl Ford should be disqualified as devisee under her mother‘s will, her son is the appropriate substitute legatee. Although the general rule is that a murderer‘s heirs cannot through the murderer take from the victim‘s estate, see Price v. Hitaffer, supra, 164 Md. at 506, 518, 165 A. 470 where the heir is also an heir of the victim and the natural beneficiary of victim‘s bounty, he is the proper substitute beneficiary. See Am. Jur.2d, Descent and Distribution § 109 (1983). Here George Benjamin Ford, Jr., the son of the murderess, is the grandson of the victim and is the victim‘s only lineal descendant. Therefore, I would hold that George is the proper beneficiary of his grandmother‘s estate.
I am authorized to state that Judge McAULIFFE concurs in the views here stated.