You can readily understand from the underlying evidence why the California Supreme Court unanimously holds today that there was insufficient evidence that Louis Emanuel was recklessly indifferent to human life sufficient to find him guilty of first degree murder. He wasn't the shooter, and even the trial court found that he didn't know that his accomplice was bringing a gun to the robbery or planned to kill anyone.
Okay. Fair enough.
But I couldn't help but notice that the only real testimony here came from the defendant and those who have ample reason to assist him (e.g., his girlfriend). That's one big advantage of killing someone: You're typically the only ones left to explain what exactly went down during the robbery.
Here, for example, Mr. Emanuel and his accomplice met in a public park to buy a pound of marijuana. Now, that could just be a classic buy; no large risk to human life there. (Though probably not zero.)
But the buyers sua sponte offered to buy the week for $2200, even though everyone knew that the market rate was $1800. No explanation for why they made an above-market offer without even negotiating. And as far as I can tell from the opinion, there was no evidence that the buyers actually brought any cash. Plus, after the murder, Mr. Emanuel allegedly told his girlfriend that the seller wouldn't "give it up" and, as a result, was shot.
Doesn't that potentially lead one to believe that Mr. Emanuel and his accomplice had actually planned on robbing the seller from the outset? (I couldn't find any evidence that the robbery was just a spontaneous decision on the part of the accomplice, as opposed to planned.) And if the robbery was indeed planned, it seems fairly obvious that the planning involved a weapon, since very few people likely give up a pound of weed based upon a mere verbal entreaty to do so.
So, sure, Mr. Emanuel says that he had no idea that his accomplice had a weapon, that the victim (Mr. Sonenberg) struggled for control of the weapon, and that the accomplice "aimed the gun at Sonenberg’s leg, but Sonenberg pushed it up" which is why the bullet hit Sonenberg's neck and killed him.
But what do you expect Mr. Emanuel to say? Mr. Sonenberg's not exactly there to contradict him. And his girlfriend only knows what Mr. Emanuel told her. That's the upside of killing the sole eyewitness to the crime. (Except, of course, for the actual shooter, but he hardly has reason to dispute your version of events.)
I'm not saying that it's clear beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Emanuel knew that there was a gun and that, as a result, he's guilty of first degree murder.
But a legal principle under which it makes a fair bit of difference whether the victim is left alive or not is probably one with some serious adverse incentive effects.