Alleged Getaway Drivers Facing Capital Murder Charges

(ConservativeStar.com) – On the afternoon of August 21, New Orleans Police Detective Everett Briscoe died in a shooting in Houston, Texas. Another man, Dyrin “D.J.” Reculfy Sr. suffered injuries but died a few days later at the hospital. Now two of the men allegedly involved in the shooting are facing charges.

Frederick Jackson, 19, and Anthony Jenkins, 21, were taken into custody. In two separate interviews, they each told police they were just the getaway driver. They both claimed a third unnamed and still at-large person pulled the trigger. However, unless the car had two steering wheels, someone is lying. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has decided to pursue capital murder charges against both. This action could see them facing the death penalty if convicted.

If found guilty, there’s no doubt their attorneys will appeal the case because the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has cut a fine line in cases where an accomplice, like a driver, is liable to the same penalties as the actual shooter. The current case precedent was set in the 1987 decision in Tison v. Arizona. It essentially says if a person could reasonably anticipate lethal force would be used and acted with reckless indifference to human life, they can be subject to the same penalty as the actual person who committed the crime.

The case is in its earliest stages, with both men only having gone through their first court appearances. Any definitive decision is likely years in the future. But if the prosecutor can prove to a jury the points required by SCOTUS, they could face life in prison or even death.

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