This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Bonilla (D) shot the victim in the head. The bullet lodged in the brain, and the victim was pronounced brain dead and had his kidneys and spleen removed. The medical examiner certified that death was due solely to the bullet wound. D's expert testified that the tests performed were not adequate to determine brain death and that the victim may have been alive when he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner testified that the texture of the brain was consistent with brain death, but he could not tell when the death had occurred or how long the victim could have survived in a vegetative state. D was found guilty of murder and appealed.

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