When is a Fork a Deadly Weapon?
In the case of C.A.C. v. State of Florida, the Second District Court of Appeal was asked to decide whether a fork is a deadly weapon in a case in which the accused individual was charged with committing the crime of aggravated battery.
The accused, who was ten years old, stabbed another child two or three times in the back with a fork which resulted in the other child having swelling, scratches, and puncture marks. The child who was stabbed did not receive medical treatment for his injuries.
The appellate court first had to determine if the victim in C.A.C.'s case suffered great bodily harm since a person commits aggravated battery if he causes great bodily harm while committing the crime of battery. The appellate court ruled that because great bodily harm is more than simply moderate harm such as mere bruising, the victim in this case did not suffer great bodily harm.
However, the court still had to decide whether the fork that was used in this case qualified as a deadly weapon since a person can also commit aggravated battery if he uses a deadly weapon. The court first noted that forks are designed to be used for eating and not for causing great bodily harm. Furthermore, the fork in this particular case did not cause great bodily harm; it instead caused swelling, scratches, and puncture marks which did not require medical treatment.
Accordingly, the appellate court found that the evidence was insufficient to convict C.A.C. of aggravated battery. However, it was sufficient to convict him of simply battery.
This is ridiculous. PEOPLE are responsible for their actions. NOT inanimate nonliving unconcious objects! Knives and guns and forks and hammers are pieces of matter. Banning pieces of matter is nonsense and useless and against the Constitution. In New York City the evil DA Cyrus Vance pushed a bill banning lock-blade pocket knives. Are they going to ban forks and butter knives next? A sharpened butter knife or a fork can do severe damage to human tissue. Should we ban hammers and tire irons and make life in society a prison for everyone? Is this your answer to the problem, those of you who support such anti Constitutional, hypocritical, useless "Nanny State" laws? Stop being such hypocrites and claiming to uphold the Constitution when you are sworn in because if you support such bans you are no better than Hitler and Nazi Germany.