Holloway v. United States

The issue in this case is the meaning of the phrase, in 18 U. S. C. §2119, “with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm.” (For convenience’ sake, I shall refer to it in this opinion as simply intent to kill.) As recounted by the Court, petitioner’s accomplice, Vernon Lennon, “testified that the plan was to steal the cars without harming the victims, but that he would have used his gun if any of the drivers had given him a‘hard time.’” Ante, at 4. The District Court instructed the jury that the intent element would be satisfied if petitioner possessed this “conditional” *13intent.…