That 1200 guns 6.5 tons of ammunition, story just went weird

[jberryhill]

38. "Failure to report a death seems to be illegal in most places, to me."

Whether something is illegal is not up to you, it's up to the statutes. As I had pointed out above, it only became a misdemeanor in Michigan two years ago, and I've been looking for a corresponding CA statute. I have not, as yet, found one.

But even that brings me back to whether he was dead when she left him. Even if there is a CA misdemeanor of failing to report a death, he'd have to be dead when she left him. No version of the story I have read is unambiguous on that point. If someone is in physical distress and says they don't want 911 called, they don't want to go to the hospital, just leave me alone, and you leave, then you haven't even "failed to report a death" because one hasn't happened yet.

And by having "legal responsibility", I mean under any condition that might impose one, not some formal arrangement. For example, you have responsibilities to passengers in your car, guests in your home, etc., that inhere under those sorts of circumstances.

But, again, absent someone coming up with a CA statute on failure to report a death, then it is not a matter of opinion whether it "seems to be illegal" or seems that way to anyone in particular. There may be one, and there are in many states, but I have not found one in California.

Another problem here is that if she believed he was an alien lizard being, then even if she thought he was dead, that's not the death of a person. Perhaps she might have known of the death of an alien lizard being, and would have otherwise reported it if she believed he was human.

But, again, (a) I can't find a California statute on point (there's a whole lot about reporting child abuse, injury and death) and (b) I'm not clear on what was his condition when she left him.

There is a general bias - in civilized countries - to not impose criminal penalties for "failure to act" absent specific kinds of legal relationships. Criminal law generally looks at what people affirmatively do, and not things that they don't do but "should".