Murder is one of the most serious crimes for which people can be prosecuted. It is often punished with life in prison without the possibility of parole or death in states and the federal government that retains the death penalty. Several Murder Law defenses are available to murder charges, including duress or necessity. This article will discuss Murder Law defenses and others that can help a defendant avoid conviction for this serious offense.
First-Degree Murder:
First-degree murder is considered the most serious kind of murder and is generally punishable by death or life in prison without parole. To commit first-degree murder, the perpetrator must act with malice and intentionally kill a person or carry out a plan to kill that person. A prosecutor may claim that the intent of the killing was premeditated or a result of a pre-existing plan.
Still, this determination is usually made on a case-by-case basis. Whether or not deliberation and premeditation exist does not necessarily mean that the killer must think about it at length. Still, it does require that the perpetrator reflect on the intention to kill and determine whether that intent is appropriate.
Find the best murder lawyer near you to defend yourself against a murder charge and to present your best argument in court. A strong defense can include arguing that you did not kill anyone (involuntary manslaughter) or that the victim was killed by an accident (vehicular manslaughter). You can also say that your actions were justified in self-defense.
Second-Degree Murder:
Murder in the second degree is typically punished as a felony with a prison sentence of up to 25 years or life without parole. This type of murder is usually committed when a person kills someone during an underlying felony but does not meet the requirements of first-degree murder, such as that the underlying felony was a dangerous offense or showed a disregard for human life.
The phrase “murder in the second degree with malice aforethought” is also used to describe this type of homicide. Malice generally refers to the intent to kill or cause serious injury and shows a reckless disregard for life. A common defense to this charge is that the killing occurred because of a supervening cause (e.g., a medical error by hospital personnel).
However, this is not an absolute defense, and the jury must still find that the defendant intended to kill or inflict serious injury on the victim.
Manslaughter:
The penalties for murder vary widely across countries and jurisdictions. Civil law codes generally punish any killing during another felony as murder, while common-law systems typically distinguish between intentional and unintentional homicides. The distinction often relates to the danger that the killer poses to society.
Socially dangerous conduct may be punished more severely than other forms of murder. Because there is no evidence of deliberate malice, manslaughter is a less serious homicide offense than murder. However, a death committed with criminal negligence may still be punished as manslaughter, depending on the jurisdiction.
For instance, their careless driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs may result in other people’s fatalities. Involuntary manslaughter or vehicular homicide are two possible punishments for this irresponsible behavior. Some jurisdictions also allow for mitigating factors in manslaughter cases, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
Duress or Coercion:
In some common Murder Law systems, murder can be reduced to manslaughter if the defendant is under duress or coercion. For the Murder Law defense to work, the defendant must face an immediate threat of death or serious injury. The danger must come through actions or words and must be present at the time of the crime. It must also be so strong that a reasonable person in the defendant’s situation would have had to commit the crime to avoid death or injury.
Similar to self-defense, duress has the distinction that the defendant cannot rely on it if they were the ones who put themselves in a position where death or serious bodily harm was a threat. It is important to note that duress is not a defense to entrapment, which involves the police encouraging someone to commit a crime.
It can be done undercover, but it becomes entrapment if the police go so far as to suggest the crime to the criminal or actively procure instruments of murder that the criminal could not acquire on their own.
