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The Case Of Blake Gibson

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Blake Gibson will unlikely be found guilty of trespassing because her decision to jump through a window for her safety outweighed the harm that would of occurred if she stayed in the public eye. Under Massachusetts’s law, the defendant must show that the harm sought to be avoided far exceeds the harm resulting from the crime committed. Commonwealth v. Hutchins, 575 N.E.2d 741, 743 (Mass. 1991). Once this is proven, defendant can inquire a defense necessity claim. A defense of necessity exonerates one who commits a crime under the pressure of circumstance if they present some evidence on four underlying conditions of the defense. Commonwealth v. Magadini, 52 N.E.3d 1041, 1047 (Mass. 2016). One, a clear and imminent danger. Id. Two, a …show more content…

Hutchins, 575 Mass. at 744. This means there may be circumstances where the value protected by the law is, as a matter of public policy, is eclipsed by a superseding value, which makes it inappropriate and unjust to apply the usual crime rule. Id. In the absence of clear and specific contrary statutory expression, the court would not frustrate legislative intent in a Thurber-type situation by recognizing a necessity defense. Id. In Hutchins, the court cites Commonwealth v. Thurber, where the defendant escaped from prison because his life was in imminent danger. The court in Thurber held that, an escape from prison might be excused, if the escape was accomplished without violence, and the prisoner reports to the authorities after attaining a position of safety from the imminent threat. Id. They reached this decision from weighting the competing harms and found that the extent of public harm likely to attend a peaceful escape from prison would be minimal compared to the likely harm to the prisoner if he were to comply with the law. Id. In Hutchins, a Thurber-type situation did not apply because the competing harms conflicted with public policy. The defendant in Hutchins was diagnosed with scleroderma and after no effective treatment or cure available; defendant used marihuana to alleviate some symptoms. Hutchins, 575 Mass. at 742. Unlike the prisoner in Thurber, the court in Hutchins held, “the alleviation … would not clearly and significantly outweigh

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