Assistant Prosecuting Attorney

  You are an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney. The following case was placed on your desk to review. Your task is to write a (short) memo to your boss, the elected prosecutor, recommending what charges (if any) your office should issue and why. Your boss likes memos to be short and to the point, but to explain why you have recommended the charges that you have chosen. He anticipates you will need at least 3 pages double spaced to adequately explain the available charge options. You will not be graded on format, but you will be heavily graded on analysis and how well you applied and explained the charges you have considered and the charges you charged. See the "Statutes" entry in module 3 as a jumping-off point. Vickie and Devon have been in a romantic relationship for 5 years. They have a four year old child in common named Caden. Devon does not work due to a traumatic brain injury he received a few years ago when he fell from a telephone pole. Ever since, Devon has experienced seizures and manic depressive episodes. Vickie is a nurse and comes home from work on a January night absolutely exhausted. When she enters their apartment in Creve Couer, Missouri, she sees Devon passed out on the couch, snoring, with a white powdery residue and a rolled up $20 bill and a dime bag on the coffee table. She observes Caden playing with his monster truck on the coffee table. Caden says, "Daddy put the powdered sugar in his nose and then he died." Vickie picks Caden up and takes him to his room and puts him to bed. Vickie then comes into the kitchen. She fills a glass with cold water and she walks into the living room and pours the glass of water on Devon. In the process of pouring the glass of water on him, Vickie drops the glass, which lands on Devon's face. Devon rises from his slumber absolutely pissed. Devon starts screaming at Vickie for waking him up. Vickie is screaming at Devon for his drug use and for sleeping when he should have been watching their son. Devon is trying to explain his actions and Vickie starts walking away into their bedroom. Devon follows her and says, "You look at me when I'm talking to you, you disrespectful bitch." Devon grabs Vickie's arm and forcefully pulls her toward him. Once she is facing him, he placed both of his hands around her neck and pushes her up against the wall. Once Vickie's back is against the wall Devon squeezes her neck for approximately 10 seconds while saying, "you aren't running your mouth now, are you?" Vickie cannot breathe. She is gasping for air. Her vision becomes blurry. She scratches Devon on his face, neck, and chest trying to make him let go. Just as Vickie is about to lose consciousness, Devon lets go of her neck. She is crying. As soon as she gets in a few breaths, Devon grabs her neck again and forces her onto the bed. They are both fully clothed. Devon begins to strangle her again. While he is squeezing her neck, she gets tunnel vision, hears a popping noise, and cannot breathe. She hears Devon say, "die bitch." This time, Vickie loses consciousness. When she regains consciousness, her and Devon's clothes are on the floor and Devon is on top of her. His penis is inside of her vagina and he is sweating as he penetrates her over and over again. After Vickie realizes what is happening, she starts crying and yelling for help. Devon then punches Vickie in the face. Vickie is able to get away after she claws her fingernails into Devon's eyes. She runs out of the bedroom and into the living room. When she gets to the front door, Devon grabs her leg. Vickie screams for help. He drags her back to their bedroom. When they get back to the bedroom, he ties one of her arms to the headboard. He then puts her face down on the bed and tries to put his penis into Vickie's anus. Vickie completely quits resisting. She says, "do whatever you want to me. Just get it over with so I can get Caden and leave." After only inserting his penis into her anus a few millimeters, Devon stops. He unties Vickie. He begins to cry and apologize. Vickie gets dressed. She lays in their bed with Devon until Devon falls asleep. Vickie then gets out of bed, gets Caden, and goes to the lobby of the apartment, where she calls 911. The police and EMS arrive. Vickie then calls her mom, who comes and gets Caden. Vickie goes by ambulance to the hospital, where a rape kit is done, revealing the presence of possible seminal fluid in her cervix and a slight injury inside of her vaginal canal. Her external injuries are observed by the police and photographed. Vickie has a swollen black eye and bruising on her wrist. Officers observe her to have faint red marks to her neck, but those marks do not show up in the photographs. Police interview the neighbor, Naomi, in the apartment directly below Vickie and Devon's apartment. Naomi says she heard yelling/arguing and banging on the floor in their apartment for approximately 30 minutes, but did not call the police because Vickie and Devon are always arguing.