Brackett v. Peters

11 F.3d 78 (7th Cir. 1993)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

P, age 21 at the time, had raped and severely beaten an 85-year-old widow for whom he had previously done yard work. She was admitted to the hospital with a broken arm, a broken rib, and extensive bruises. During her stay in the hospital, which lasted several weeks, she became depressed, resisted efforts to feed her, and became progressively weaker. Transferred to a nursing home, she continued to deteriorate, even though her physical injuries were healing. Her doctor ordered a nasal gastric feeding tube for her, but the tube could not be inserted, in part because facial injuries inflicted by P made insertion of the tube too painful. She died while a nurse was feeding her some pureed food through a feeder syringe. An autopsy revealed that a large quantity of food, some six or seven ounces, had become lodged in Mrs. Winslow's trachea, asphyxiating her. P was convicted after a bench trial of felony murder and given a long prison term. P applied for federal habeas corpus, arguing that no rational finder of fact could have found that he had caused the death of his victim. The district judge denied his application. This appeal resulted.