People v. Anderson
Supreme Court of California
50 P.3d 368 (2002)
Relevant factsFree
Anderson kidnapped and murdered a woman he suspected of molesting children, claiming a father of one alleged victim had threatened to beat him if he did not kill her; the jury convicted him of kidnapping and first-degree murder, and he argued that a statute permitting duress as a defense to any non-capital crime should now cover ordinary first-degree murder since only murder with special circumstances remains capital.
IssueFree
Whether duress is a defense to the killing of an innocent person.