Degrees of Murder

Definition of Murder

Murder is generally defined as an intentional, unjustifiable, and illegal taking of the life of someone else. There are many debates as to what acts constitute murder. There are also many variations in the definition of murder in modern law. The definition of murder and the degrees of murder also vary from one state to the other. Most people perceive murder to be anything that causes immediate death to an individual, owing to serious injury, or any form of harm, inflicted by another person.

Justification for a Murder Charge and Burden of Proof

If a person dies and there is a suspect who is believed to have killed him/her, the suspect will most likely be charged with murder. Common law defines murder as the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought. To elaborate, malice aforethought can be intent to kill, reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, or intent to commit a dangerous felony.

It is a universal standard that the burden of proof to justify a murder charge, must be beyond any reasonable doubt. This is a tall order for the prosecution. As a result, prosecutors usually charge a person with murder when they are confident that they have enough arguments to lead to a conviction. The burden of proof is set very high, to prevent the justice system from convicting innocent people.

Degrees of Murder

In the legal sphere, the various degrees of murder are based on the severity of the murder. They are also based on the state of mind of the perpetrator at the time he/she committed the act that led to the death of a person. Usually, some states would describe the degrees of murder with slight variations, but the basics are the same.

First Degree Murder

Murder in the first degree is the most sinister type of murder. This is because it involves causing the death of another person with forethought, deliberation, and malice. First degree murder can be defined as the deliberate and premeditated killing of another person, with malice. To prove a first degree murder in a court, prosecutors have to prove that the accused had thought of killing the victim before the act, he/she killed intentionally, and had malicious intentions. Malice can be defined as committing the act without a legal excuse or a just cause.

Some legal excuses exist and often lead to people getting set free after they are charged with murder. One common legal excuse is self-defense or defense of another person. Another common legal excuse to commit murder is temporary insanity or mental incapacity. Most of the times, this defense leads to the prosecutor opting to charge the person of a different degree of murder to prevent the accused from being set free.

Second Degree Murder

Second degree murder is defined as a non-premeditated killing, resulting from an assault in which death of the victim was a distinct possibility. It is also referred to as voluntary manslaughter. It is when a person kills another person with malice. It arises as a spontaneous action by a person which leads to the death of the other person. This degree of murder does not include forethought by the perpetrator.

Third Degree Murder

Third degree murder is defined as a killing that resulted from a depraved heart or extreme recklessness. It is also commonly known as involuntary manslaughter or felony murder. Of all the degrees of murder, it is the most minor one. In this degree of murder, the perpetrator did not have any intention to kill another person but one of his/her actions leads to the death of a person. Among the degrees of murder, this one carries the least amount of culpability and has lesser sentences than the other degrees. Charges of murder in the third degree are most often based on negligence.

As mentioned earlier, the accused person’s state of mind comes up in almost every murder trial. The state of mind of the accused is vital for the prosecutor to form a reasonable basis for his argument. It will determine which one of the degrees of murder he will charge the suspect for. The state of mind of a person during the time of commission of a felony is difficult to accurately determine, and often makes it necessary to engage the services of professionals like psychologists.