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What are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree murders?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
… and much more.
Let’s dig in.
Here is what 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree murders are:
First-degree murders are always:
Second-degree murders are:
Third-degree murders are:
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Read More: How Many Murders Go Unsolved
First-degree murder is the most severe and harshest form of murder.
First-degree murders are premeditated murders carried out with intent.
The person committing a first-degree murder intended to:
The two types of first-degree murder are:
The courts look for evidence that the defendant formed the intent to kill before killing.
The defendant had to think about and plan to kill for a period of time.
What determines premeditation and deliberation to kill are:
First-degree murder is the intentional killing of another person.
It’s by someone who has acted willfully, deliberately, and with planning.
Read More: Murder Rate In The US
There are three requirements for murder to get classified as first-degree murder.
These three requirements are:
Premeditation is the core requirement for first-degree murders.
This means that the murder got planned ahead of time.
The courts don’t take mental disorders into consideration for this.
Common examples of premeditation are:
Malice aforethought means the murder got committed with a disregard for human life.
And with clear intent to kill the victim.
Intent to kill means that the defendant intended to kill the victim.
Intent can get used for felony murders, too. You may have intended to commit:
But you may not have intended to kill someone or for someone to get killed.
But, since you intended the criminal act, it’s still intended to kill.
This is because the criminal act that you intended to do led to the murder.
There are three types of murders that get classified as first-degree murder.
These three types of murders are:
Premeditated murders are ones where the defendant planned out the murder.
The murder happened with the intent to kill the other person.
And there was a willful and strong desire to end the other person’s life.
Felony murders occur as a result of you committing another felony.
Let’s say that you are robbing someone’s home while they are out of town.
During the robbery, someone shows up at the house and kills one of your partners.
You did not commit the murder of your partner.
But you were committing a felony that led to your partner getting murdered.
In this case, you will get charged with the felony murder of your friend.
A murder by specific means that you are committing murder with things like:
Second-degree murder is killing someone without any form of planning or premeditation.
Second-degree murder is an intentional homicide crime, like first-degree murder.
Second-degree murderers still have the intent to kill but are not premeditated.
Premeditation is what distinguishes second degree-murder from first-degree murder.
Those committing second-degree murders:
Second-degree murder is killing someone with malicious intent that’s not premeditated.
There are two requirements for murder to get classified as second-degree murder.
These two requirements are:
Malice aforethought means the murder got committed with a disregard for human life.
And with clear intent to kill the victim.
Intent to kill means that the defendant intended to kill the victim.
Intent can get used for felony murders, too.
You may have intended to commit:
But you may not have intended to kill someone or for someone to get killed.
But, since you intended the criminal act, it’s still intended to kill.
This is because the criminal act that you intended to do led to the murder.
There are three types of murders that get classified as second-degree murder.
These three types of murders are:
Intentional murders without premeditation are intentional murders that were not planned out.
These murders are usually an act of provocation or “the heat of passion.”
This means killing a human being in the heat of the moment.
Some states categorize this as voluntary manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter is unintentional killing from recklessness or criminal negligence.
Recklessness means being aware of the risk they were creating.
Negligence means they weren’t aware of the risk but should have been.
An example of negligence is a parent leaving their child in the car on a hot day and they die.
Or a tour operator not giving passengers safety protocols and one dies.
A depraved indifferent murder is causing death during a reckless or dangerous act.
A drunk driver killing someone is an example of depraved indifference
Third-degree murder is the least severe form of murder.
Sentencing for third-degree murder is only available in three states:
Third-degree murder is a non-premeditated murder.
Third-degree murders are unplanned, unintentional killings.
These murders had intent to harm, but not to kill.
Third-degree murders are accidental murders that are not a part of another felony.
Third-degree murder is murder with the intent to harm, not kill.
3rd-degree murders are unplanned, unintentional, and not premeditated.
There are two requirements for murder to get classified as third-degree murder.
These two requirements are:
Intent to harm without the intent to kill lands you with third-degree murder.
This means that you wanted to hurt someone but accidentally killed them.
No premeditation means that you were not planning on killing someone.
There are three types of murders that get classified as second-degree murder.
These three types of murders are:
A third-degree murder can be voluntary or involuntary.
An example of voluntary murder is falling and pushing someone off a ledge on accident.
An example of involuntary murder is punching someone and unintentionally killing them.
A non-violent felony murder is someone dying while committing a non-violent felony.
Let’s say that someone dies while you are committing:
You don’t have to kill someone to get charged with felony murder.
Let’s say that you have an accomplice and that accomplice gets shot.
You will get charged with their murder.
This is because the murder occurred due to your premeditated actions.
A depraved indifferent murder is causing death during a reckless or dangerous act.
A drunk driver killing someone is an example of depraved indifference.
And drug consumption leading to death is another example of third-degree murder.
Let’s say you sell or give someone drugs, they consume too much, and they overdose.
You selling or giving them drugs leads to their death.
You will get charged with third-degree murder.
Let’s look at the charges for the different degrees of murder cases.
We have 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree murder charges to look at.
First-degree murder charges carry from 25 years to life in prison to death penalties.
The most common first-degree murder charges are:
Each state (jurisdiction) has its own criminal laws about first-degree murder charges.
Some give you the possibility of parole for life imprisonment while some do not.
Second-degree murder charges carry from 6 years to life in prison.
Each state (jurisdiction) has its own criminal laws about second-degree murder charges.
Some state laws give you the possibility of parole while some do not.
There are also elements that either:
Things that reduce (known as “mitigating”) your murder charges are:
Things that increase your 2nd-degree murder charges are:
Only three states issue third-degree murder charges.
Here are the murder charges for third-degree murders in these three states:
You can kill someone in self-defense.
But you can only defend yourself with enough force to eliminate the threat.
Meaning if someone pushes you, you can’t kill them in self-defense.
A roughly equal amount of force would be pushing them down so you can get away.
You will need a criminal defense lawyer to prove you acted in self-defense.
And your murdering someone was an appropriate force to eliminate the threat.
Here are other definitions surrounding 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree murders.
Homicide is the unlawful killing of a person by another person.
A premeditated murder is a murder that was planned out ahead of time.
First-degree manslaughter is causing premeditated injuries.
And those injuries cause the death of another person.
Second-degree manslaughter is someone causing injuries that lead to the death of another person.
And those injuries are a result of you acting recklessly.
Involuntary manslaughter is when someone commits an unintentional act.
And that act causes injuries that lead to the death of another person.
Voluntary manslaughter is when someone commits an intentional act.
And that act causes injuries that lead to the death of another person.
Capital murder is first-degree murder that results in the death penalty.
The death penalty is what makes it capital murder, not the other way around.
Negligent homicide is when your negligence results in the death of another person.
Negligence gets determined by:
This section should expand on “what are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-degree murders?”
Capital murders always result in you getting the death penalty.
Capital murders are first-degree murders with the harshest penalties.
But, not all first-degree murders land you with the death penalty.
Some states only give you life for premeditated criminal homicide.
Criminal homicide is the killing of a person by another person.
Manslaughter is causing injuries that lead to the death of another person.
With manslaughter, the intended outcome is not death.
The intended outcome is injuring the other person.
But, those injuries become manslaughter when they lead to the death of another person.
Not all homicides are illegal.
A soldier can commit homicide in war and it is legal.
But, when a citizen kills another person, it’s illegal.
When homicide is illegal, it’s called criminal homicide.
And criminal homicide is murder.
Murder is when someone illegally kills another person.
But homicide is when someone legally or illegally kills a person.
The difference between 1st and 2nd-degree murders is premeditation.
Premeditated murders are first-degree murders.
Non-premeditated murders are second-degree murders.
If you are facing conviction of 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-degree murder, fill out the form on this page.
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