California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Russell H., In re, 196 Cal.App.3d 916, 242 Cal.Rptr. 488 (Cal. App. 1987):
"[S]econd degree murder based on implied malice has been committed when a person does ' " 'an act, the natural consequences of which are dangerous to life, which act was deliberately performed by a person who knows that his conduct endangers the life of another and who acts with conscious disregard for life' "....' [Citations.] Phrased in a different way, malice may be implied when defendant does an act with a high probability that it will result in death and does it with a base antisocial motive and with a wanton disregard for human life. [Citation.]" People v. Watson (1981) 30 Cal.3d 290, 300, 179 Cal.Rptr. 43, 637 P.2d 279.)
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