A person with the mens rea for murder fires a gun at the victim, misses the heart (for which the bullet was aimed), and hits the arm. Two weeks later the victim dies of cancer. In this case the cancer would be:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The cancer is an intervening act because it is an independent event that breaks the causal chain between the defendant's action and the victim's death. The victim's death was not a direct result of the gunshot wound.

A Person with the Mens Rea for Murder Fires a Gun