Should George Milton be found guilty for his role in the death of Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men.Describe why George would be found guilty in John...

In Of Mice and Men, I think George
performs a "mercy killing," not murder, on Lennie, his long-time
friend.

To convict on murder you need: 1) the act of murder
and 2) an intent to kill which is intentional, purposeful, malicious,
premeditated.

So, while George's mercy killing is
intentional, purposeful, and premeditated, it is not malicious.  The two men had not had
a public fight; there's no signs of scuffle.  George was a type of guardian to Lennie,
and his role was that of protection.

According to
California State Law, George may not be guilty of murder.  There are exclusions,
according to Voluntary Euthanasia Under the
Law:

• Unlawful killings
  without malice or intent are
  considered manslaughter.


• Justified or
  accidental killings are considered homicides. Depending on the
  circumstances, these may or may not be considered criminal
  offenses.

So, I tend to think it
is voluntary euthanasia, or manslaughter, or justifiable homicide and not murder,
because there is no malicious motive on George's part.  He knew that Curley and the
posse were out for blood, and so he performed an act of mercy on his friend to prevent
the inevitable.