Us Vs Eduave
Us Vs Eduave
Us Vs Eduave
ISSUE:
Whether or not accused should be convicted of frustrated murder or attempted murder.
RULING:
Yes, accused should be convicted of frustrated murder.
A felony is frustrated when the offender performs all the acts of execution which should produce
the felony as a consequence, but which, nevertheless do not produce it by reason of causes
independent of the will of the perpetrator. (See Art 3, Revise Penal Code)
The essential element which distinguishes attempted from frustrated felony is that, in the latter,
there is no intervention of a foreign or extraneous cause or agency between the beginning of the
commission of the crime and the moment all of the acts have been performed which should
result in the consummated crime. While in the former there is such intervention and the offender
does not arrive at the point of performing all the acts which should produce the crime.
In case of an attempt, the offender never passes the subjective phase of the offense. He is
interrupted and compelled to desist by the intervention of outside causes before the subjective
phase is passed.
In case of frustrated crimes, the subjective phase is completely passed. Subjectively, the crime
is complete. Nothing interrupted the offender while he was passing through the subjective
phase. The crime, however, is not consummated by reason of the causes independent of the
will of the offender. He did all that was necessary to commit the crime. If the crime did not result
as a consequence it was due to something beyond his control.
That the case before us is frustrated is clear.
The penalty should have been thirteen years of cadena temporal there being neither
aggravating nor mitigating circumstance. As so modified, the judgment is affirmed with
costs.