Women & Addiction SU 2008: Digital Scrapbook #8: R.J. Reynolds is Guilty of First Degree Murder & I Can Prove It

(image: Project SCUM- tobaccodocuments.org)

Cigarette companies are sneaky. It is really sad that a company that knows our society is largely dependent on them is willing to specifically target out a group and basically help kill them. Last time I checked, knowingly killing someone was classified as premeditated and known as Murder in the first degree. This crime can be punishable by death. According to California law the definition of first degree murder:

MURDER, FIRST DEGREE - In order for someone to be found guilty of first degree murder the government must prove that the person killed another person; the person killed the other person with malice aforethought; and the killing was premeditated. To kill with malice aforethought means to kill either deliberately and intentionally or recklessly with extreme disregard for human life.Premeditation means with planning or deliberation. The amount of time needed for premeditation of a killing depends on the person and the circumstances. It must be long enough, after forming the intent to kill, for the killer to have been fully conscious of the intent and to have considered the killing first-degree murder in California includes a killing that is "willful, deliberate, and premeditated," or that is committed in the perpetration, or attempt to perpetrate, certain felonies, including burglary, and not including the petty offense of shoplifting. (Cal. Penal Code S 189.)

In essence, these companies could be held responsible for the deaths of millions of people, yet somehow they manage to walk the streets freely. One of the best examples of specific groups being targeted was mentioned in Courtney Trouble’s article, “Where There’s Smoke…” there was mention of the controversial mid-nineties project S.C.U.M. (Trouble 2005) In case you were wondering, SCUM was an acronym for Subculture Urban Marketing. This marketing campaign was created in the early nineties by R.J. Reynolds Company to target lesbians/gays living in the Castro and homeless people living in the Tenderloin, both neighborhoods in San Francisco. As if members of the LGBT community did not have it hard enough already, they soon found out what patriarchy really thought of them.
Let’s break this down. In order for “someone” to be found guilty of first degree murder, the government must prove that the person killed another person. According to the American Cancer Society, “438,000 people die from illnesses related to cigarette smoking.” (American Cancer Society 2007) Well, there is your proof that somebody actually died.
Next, we must prove that “the person killed the other person with malice or forethought.” The documents for Project S.C.U.M. included some lovely handwritten notes. (as pictured above) “Consumer Subcultures --Alternative Life Style (handwritten: "Castro/gay") --International influence --Rebellious; Generation X --Street People...more applicable to Doral (handwritten: "Tenderloin" (tobaccodocuments.org) The scribbled comments do not seem like terms of endearment and they clearly put some forethought into this plan, hence the premeditation.
“To kill with malice aforethought means to kill either deliberately and intentionally or recklessly with extreme disregard for human life.” (Cal. Penal Code S 189) I could go off on a limb and say that the companies did this intentionally and deliberately but they would just counter by saying that they didn’t. However, the “recklessly with extreme disregard for human life” portion fits them to a tee. (Cal. Penal Code S 189) These corporations do not care about the people. In fact, the whole point of the S.C.U.M. proposal was to get more people to use cigarettes. Going further I could prove that this act has been premeditated since the R.J. Reynolds company was started back in 1875. Either way, this corporation is responsible for millions of deaths, but because of our love of money, they get off scott free.