Sponsored by:
Senator THOMAS H. KEAN, JR.
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Clarifies that encouraging another person to cause bodily injury, by filming, photographing, or otherwise recording injury-causing act, is form of crime of endangering injured victim.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the criminal encouragement of persons to cause bodily injury and amending P.L.2000, c.174.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.2000, c.174 (C.2C:12-1.2) is amended to read as follows:
1. Endangering an injured victim. a. A person is guilty of endangering an injured victim if he causes bodily injury to any person or solicits, aids, encourages, including by filming, photographing, or otherwise recording the act causing bodily injury, or attempts or agrees to aid another, who causes bodily injury to any person, and leaves the scene of the injury knowing or reasonably believing that the injured person is physically helpless, mentally incapacitated or otherwise unable to care for himself.
b. As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) "Physically helpless" means the condition in which a person is unconscious, unable to flee, or physically unable to summon assistance;
(2) "Mentally incapacitated" means that condition in which a person is rendered temporarily or permanently incapable of understanding or controlling one's conduct, or of appraising or controlling one's condition, which incapacity shall include but is not limited to an inability to comprehend one's own peril;
(3) "Bodily injury" shall have the meaning set forth in N.J.S.2C:11-1.
c. It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for a violation of this section that the defendant summoned medical treatment for the victim or knew that medical treatment had been summoned by another person, and protected the victim from further injury or harm until emergency assistance personnel arrived. This affirmative defense shall be proved by the defendant by a preponderance of the evidence.
d. A person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:1-8 or any other provision of law, a conviction arising under this subsection shall not merge with a conviction of the crime that rendered the person physically helpless or mentally incapacitated, nor shall such other conviction merge with a conviction under this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.2C:44-5 or any other provision of law, the sentence imposed pursuant to this section shall be ordered to be served consecutively to that imposed for any conviction of the crime that rendered the person physically helpless or mentally incapacitated.
e. Nothing herein shall be deemed to preclude, if the evidence so warrants, an indictment and conviction for murder, manslaughter, assault or any other offense.
(cf: P.L.2000, c.174, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill amends the existing crime of endangering an injured victim to clarify that encouraging another person to cause bodily injury to a victim, by filming, photographing, or otherwise recording the injury-causing act, is a form of such crime. This crime is graded as a crime of the third degree, ordinarily punishable by a term of imprisonment of three to five years, a fine of up to $15,000, or both.
The current law already makes it a crime for a person to “encourage” another who causes bodily injury to any person and then leaves the scene of the injury knowing or believing that the resulting injured person is physically helpless, mentally incapacitated, or otherwise unable to care for himself.
The bill is intended to address recent incidents of particularly heinous assaults in New York City in which bystanders recorded violent attacks against Asian Americans without rendering aid or calling for medical assistance.