I decided to start this thread after reading a very insightful post from Narasinha in the Jean Grey Appreciation thread regarding the legal ramifications of the Phoenix Force. It’s an issue that hasn’t really been addressed in the comics or really discussed in that great of detail. It basically states that in a modern court of law, Jean Grey wouldn’t have been found guilty of murder in any degree for what happened to the D’brai. At the very least, she would’ve been hit with an involuntary manslaughter charge. However, the circumstances would make a conviction for that hazy at best. So I’m going to open up a discussion/debate here and it boils down to one question:
How would a real court treat crimes while committed under the influence of the Phoenix Force?
I think this is an important issue to address because these crimes have been used to justify a lot of creative decisions, some of them pretty infamous, for characters like Jean Grey. More recently, Cyclops has been affected by this as well in wake of Avengers vs. X-men. So for the sake of this discussion, let’s all channel our inner Matt Murdock and list the legal issues here. And since Narasinha did such a great job, I’ll cite what she cited.
For Jean Grey’s crime of slaughtering the D’brai, here are the legal charges and the associated state of those charges. And for the sake of this argument, let’s ignore the retcon.
1. First-degree Murder: Dark Phoenix planned to kill the inhabitants of that planet: First-degree murder.
2. Second-degree Murder: Dark Phoenix killed the inhabitants of that planet intentionally, but it wasn't premeditated.
3. Voluntary Manslaughter: Dark Phoenix killed the inhabitants. It wasn't premeditated and there were circumstances that would "cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed."
4. Involuntary Manslaughter: Dark Phoenix killing the inhabitants of that planet wasn't intentional. There is no intention to cause death but it's the result of an intentional, or negligent act leading to death.
Now if we’re going to use the US system of laws, here are the associated punishments associated with those crimes.
1. First degree Murder: life imprisonment or death sentence.
2. Second-degree Murder: Depend but usually not less than 10 years imprisonment. Up to 25-40 years with reduction (parole) possible.
3. Voluntary Manslaughter: Fine or up to 15 years imprisonment.
4. Involuntary Manslaughter: Fine or up to 8 years imprisonment.
With these terms in mind, let’s look at the evidence. Jean Grey, while under the influence of the Phoenix Force, did not hint at any plan or premedication for murdering the D’brai. She didn’t even mention them. She was focused on the star the planet orbited. So First-degree Murder is essentially a no-go. And because she was focused on consuming the star, not the planet, I think we can rule out Second-degree Murder as well. She clearly had no idea the planet was even there, let alone inhabited. Again, she was focused on consuming the star. Someone may have to scrutinize each panel, but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to indicate that Jean knew the planet was there. So that charge is dropped
We’re left with the two forms of manslaughter. Now this is where it gets really tricky, as Nanasinha pointed out. Jean was not in a clear state of mind. She was overwhelmed and intoxicated by the power. And there is precedent with the Phoenix that it can cause a reasonable person to become disturbed. The real world equivalent would be a drug known to induce severe psychosis. However, even if this argument was made, I think there would be sufficient reasonable doubt to assert that destroying the planet was intentional. Again, she didn’t focus on the planet. She focused on the star. I don’t know if there’s a close analogy. Maybe somebody shoots at a car while in a state of psychosis without knowing there’s anybody in it. If anyone else has a better analogy, please share it.
So at a trial, it could be clearly established that Jean Grey was not in a clear state of mind and there’s a fair amount of doubt that she even knew the planet in question was there, let alone inhabited. So at worst, it’s voluntary manslaughter. She could basically get the same treatment a drunk driver would get.
However, there’s one other very important wrinkle to this case that would undermine that judgment. Jean Grey only became Dark Phoenix after the Hellfire Club corrupted her. There is legal precedent that she was able to control the Phoenix and avoid hurting anyone before. That’s an important precedent to set because it establishes that she did not choose to go on this rampage. There were other mitigating factors. In this case, the Hellfire Club essentially tortured her mentally to become the Black Queen, which in turn made her into Dark Phoenix.
This is a very important distinction because it makes a drunk driving analogy imperfect. Jean Grey didn’t ask to be turned into the Dark Phoenix. She didn’t ask for anything the Hellfire Club did to her. They manipulated and used her. It would be more like Emma Frost and Mastermind strapped her to a chair against her will and forcibly injected her with drugs that induced psychosis. Then, without knowing what would happen, they unleashed her and she committed her crimes. This is hard to rule on because there is a legal definition for provocation. But Jean wasn’t just provoked. She herself was the victim of a serious crime, mental torture and manipulation. So even if she is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, it’s hard to put her in the same category as a drunk driver or a rage killing because she showed earlier that she could handle the Phoenix Force. It took someone else hurting and tormenting her against her will to make her commit crimes. If anything, Emma Frost and Mastermind are more culpable in this case. They would certainly be guilty of manslaughter in some form since they were the ones that did this to Jean.