Prompt:
Larry is supervising a construction project. While excavating the hole for the foundation, the
crew encounters an unusually large amount of hard
... [Show More] dirt and rock. Larry requisitions a
jackhammer, hands it to Moe, and instructs Moe to use the jackhammer to break up some of the
rock so the excavation crew can more easily continue its work. Moe begins hammering into what
he believes is a long, flat, rock to break it up and make it easier for the excavation crew to
remove. Unbeknownst to Moe, the surface he is hammering with the jackhammer is not a rock
but a concrete encasement for a live underground power line. Moe hammers through the
encasement and directly into the power line. Moe is electrocuted to death by the high-voltage
current.
It is later discovered that Larry never checked about the location of underground utilities on the
property, including power lines, before beginning the project or instructing Moe to use the
jackhammer. It is standard practice in the construction industry to do so, and a public hotline
exists for the purpose of checking on the location of underground utilities before beginning
excavation work. There is an electrical substation within sight of the location where Moe was
using the jackhammer, and the power line connects to that substation to provide power to
neighboring properties. Although the concrete encasement had at one point been painted orange,
the orange paint had worn off with time and, aside from its flat surface, the encasement was
indistinguishable from other rocks the excavation crew encountered at the excavation site. Larry
instructed Moe generally to use the jackhammer to break up rocks at the excavation site; he did
not inspect the specific location where Moe used the jackhammer, nor did he specifically instruct
Moe to use the jackhammer at the location where the electrocution occurred. Moe had used the
jackhammer on several rocks without incident prior to the electrocution, and never alerted Larry
about anything amiss, suspicious, or wrong at the site of the electrocution or at the excavation
site in general.
Can the state successfully prosecute Larry for murder on a depraved heart theory? If not, can the
state successfully prosecute Larry for involuntary manslaughter? [Show Less]