It’s been 146 days since Breonna Taylor was killed. Kentucky’s Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, still has not filed any charges against the Louisville Police Department officers who killed her. Here are some statutes that deserve attention:

Murder (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 507.020):

A person is guilty of murder when: (a) With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person.

Reckless Homicide (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 507.050):

A person is guilty of reckless homicide when, with recklessness he causes the death of another person.

First Degree Manslaughter (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 507.030):

A person is guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when: (a) With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person; (b) With intent to cause the death of another person, he causes the death of such person or of a third person under circumstances which do not constitute murder because he acts under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, as defined in subsection (1)(a) of KRS 507.020; or

In Criminal Law, we were taught to break down and work through each element of a criminal statute. Essentially every class was devoted to identifying the elements of a crime, gathering the facts of the case, and analyzing the case by connecting elements to facts. Our professor was a practicing defense attorney so she kept us on our toes and we learned to take nothing for granted. For the sake of brevity, and at the risk of incurring her wrath, I am just going to say that the uncontested facts of this case easily satisfy the actus reus (guilty act) element of these statutes.[1] No one is denying that these police officers caused Breonna Taylor’s death.

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