New York Man Killed Over Subway Seat
If you have ever been to New York, you know that it seems like there are literally ten thousand people in each subway car, all struggling for a place to sit or a rail to hold on to for balance. Fighting for these prime positions on the subway can often result in contentious disputes that lead to violence. In the case of Gerardo Sanchez, a 37 year-old man from New York, a subway seat dispute led to murder. Apparently Sanchez got into a dispute over a seat with another passenger that resulted in Sanchez stabbing the man in the head and neck several times, eventually killing the victim. A train conductor alerted the authorities, and Sanchez was arrested when the train made its next stop. He was charged with murder and criminal possession of a deadly weapon.
In Tennessee, Mr. Sanchez would likely be charged with second-degree murder. A “knowing killing of another” is sufficient to qualify as second-degree murder under the Tennessee statute, which basically means that any time a person kills another person intentionally, they can be charged under the second-degree murder statute. It is possible that since Mr. Sanchez was obviously enraged by the victim taking his seat that he could be charged with the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which is the intentional or knowing killing of another person while “in a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner.”
However, it is doubtful that the taking of someone’s seat is adequate provocation for someone to stab another person repeatedly in the face, regardless of how bad the offender may want the seat. If this were the case, musical chairs would be the most deadly game on earth, and would not be nearly as popular at birthday parties. It is far more likely that Mr. Sanchez would be found to have acted with the intent to kill the victim without sufficient provocation, leading to a second-degree murder charge.
Second-degree murder is a Class A felony in Tennessee, punishable by fifteen to sixty years in prison. It can result from the knowing killing of another or the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or II drug that that causes the death of the user. It is one of the most serious offenses a person can commit in Tennessee, as only first-degree murder carries a more serious penalty.
Source: http://news.aol.com/article/new-york-city-subway-death-man-stabbed/778825
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