Oxendine
v. State
Notes
and Questions
3. Who is the
actual (“but for”) cause of death?
A. X is an actual
cause of death, because V would not have died when he did “but for” the actions
of X. D is an actual cause of death
because V would have died five minutes later “but for” the actions of D.
B. X is still an
actual cause. V would not have died “but
for” being stabbed by X. D is no longer
an actual cause because D did not commit a voluntary act.
C. X is an actual
case of V’s death, but D is no longer an actual cause because D did not
accelerate V’s death.
D. The answer to
the sine qua non question is “no” for both actors, therefore, both
actors are actual causes of V’s death.
E. Here we add
the words “as it did” to the sine qua non question and find that both
actors are actual causes of V’s death by multiple shootings.