ESCAPE IMPLEMENTS ‑ INTRODUCING INTO INSTITUTION OR PROVIDING INMATE (N.J.S.A. 2C:29‑6a) model jury charge
Defendant is charged with the crime
of introducing an implement for escape into an institution or a detention
facility (or providing an implement for escape to an inmate of an institution
or a detention facility).
The relevant statute provides that
"A person commits an offense if he knowingly and unlawfully introduces
within an institution or a detention facility (or knowingly and unlawfully
provides an inmate with) any weapon, tool or other thing which may be useful
for escape."
To obtain a conviction on this charge, the State must
prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
(1) That S1 is a weapon, tool or other thing
which may be useful for escape;
(2) That defendant introduced S1 within an
institution or a detention facility (or that defendant provided S1 to an inmate
of an institution or a detention facility); and
(3) That defendant acted both knowingly and
unlawfully.
For these purposes, escape means a removal of oneself
from official detention in an institution or a detention facility (or a failure
to return to official detention in an institution or a detention facility
following temporary leave for a specific purpose or limited period) without
lawful authority.[1] An institution or a detention facility means
any place designed to hold persons charged with criminal or other offenses
while they are awaiting trial or after they have been convicted. is such an institution (or such a detention
facility).
Knowingly. A
person acts knowingly with respect to the nature of his/her conduct or the attendant circumstances if the person is
aware that his/her conduct is of that nature, or that such circumstances
exist, or the person is aware of a high probability of their existence. A person acts knowingly with respect to a
result of his/her conduct if the person is aware that it is practically
certain that his/her conduct will cause such a result.
Unlawfully means surreptitiously or contrary to law,
regulations or order of the detaining authority.
Again, the elements of the crime that the State must
prove beyond a reasonable doubt are that S1 is a weapon, tool or other thing
which may be useful for escape; that defendant introduced S1 within an
institution or a detention facility (or that defendant provided S1 to an inmate
of an institution or detention facility); and that defendant acted both
knowingly and unlawfully. If you find
that the State has failed to prove any one or more of these elements beyond a
reasonable doubt then your verdict should be Not Guilty and you should deliberate
no further.[2] On the other hand, if you find that the State
has proven all of these elements beyond a reasonable doubt, then your verdict
should be Guilty and you must deliberate further to determine the degree of the
offense.
Under our law, the crime of introducing an implement for
escape into an institution or a detention facility (or providing an implement
for escape to an inmate of an institution or a detention facility) is a crime
of the second degree if the implement for escape introduced (or provided is a
weapon and a crime of the third degree if it is not. Therefore, if you find defendant Guilty you
must determine whether S1 is a weapon to determine the degree of the
offense. A weapon is defined as anything
readily capable of lethal use or of inflicting serious bodily injury.[3]
Here, as always, the burden of proof is on the State and
the standard is proof beyond a reasonable doubt. If you find that the State has
proven beyond a reasonable doubt not only that defendant committed the crime of
introducing an implement for escape into an institution or a detention facility
(or providing an implement for escape to an inmate of an institution or
detention facility), but also that the implement for escape the defendant
introduced (or provided) is a weapon, then your verdict should be Guilty of the
second degree offense. On the other
hand, if you find that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that
defendant committed the crime of introducing an implement for escape into an
institution or a detention facility (or providing an implement for escape to an
inmate of an institution or detention facility), but you also find that the
State has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the implement for
escape the defendant introduced (or provided) is a weapon, then your verdict
should be Guilty of the third degree offense.
[1] See
the model charge on Escape (N.J.S.A. 2C:29-5a) for further discussion on
the elements of the crime of escape.
[2] For
a lesser included offense where there is an issue as to whether an item
provided to an inmate is other than a "weapon, tool or other thing which
may be useful for escape", see the model charge on Providing an Inmate
with Contraband (N.J.S.A. 2C:29-6b).