I’m a fan of the show Law & Order. I always wonder what the definitions of the different charges mean. Like what’s the difference between Murder one and Manslaughter one? What is Murder two? Please 'splain. Thanks!
Most of the time, the difference is “intent”. Like First-degree Murder would be a situation where the murder was pre-meditated (planned weeks in advance, etc.).
Second-degree Murder would be if, say, I came home, found my family watching Power Rangers (and enjoying)… and then I flew into a rage and killed them all.
Voluntary Manslaughter is when you eat a whole buncha twinkies and go kill the mayor. Well, okay, not that specific instance, but just about any instance of “diminished mental capacity”.
Involuntary Manslaughter is when you accidently take someone else’s life, like in a car accident or if you toss a couch out your window.
I don’t know how instances of killing someone in self-defense would fit in. I also know that some prosecutors can find gray areas between the different charges.
The exact definitions are different in different jurisdictions, but here’s the general run-down.
First degree Murder: Premeditated and planned. You made the decision to murder a specific person for a specific reason while fully mentally competent and did it.
Second degree murder: Not necessarily premeditated; usually a response to some sort of stimuli. The “he got pushed over the edge” type of murder.
Third degree murder: (this one varies a lot). Usually murder with no specific intent or motive, often committed by not-mentally competent person.
First degree manslaughter: You intended and premeditated an action which would result in harming someone, but they ended up dead as a result.
Second degree manslaughter: Not necessarily premeditated version of the above
Negligent homicide: You do something really, surprisingly stupid that ends up in someone getting killed, but you had no intent to harm or kill.
If you kill someone in self-defense, you wouldn’t be charged with a crime. If the prosecutors thought you murdered the person, you would be charged with a crime, and you would then have to prove it was self defense.
First-degree murder is sometimes also called “murder in cold blood” as opposed to a hot-blooded murder. If you come home and find your wife in bed with another man and strangle her (or him) on the spot, that’s hot-blooded. If you’ve known about the affair for a while, and gotten yourself pulled together enough to make plans about it, then your blood has cooled.
The situation Chronos describes happens more often than you think. In one case I am aware of through a relative, a woman was having sex with her husband who decided he wanted to try anal sex. She refused. He insisted. He won. She waited several hours until he was asleep and shot him dead. She’s now serving life in prison. If she had gotten the gun as soon as he was done raping her, she’d probably be the subject of a Lifetime movie by now.
I have even heard tales of prosecutors successfully arguing the difference between “temporary insanity” and first-degree murder on the grounds of whether or not the perp stopped to reload.
It’s going to be a question of what the D.A. thinks he can get a conviction on.
The phrasing for the charge of murder in the statutes around here is killing someone “intentionally, with premeditation and malice aforethought.” Interestingly, in our statutes the top charge is just plain “Murder” and only “second” degree is identified as such.
Then there’s also the “felony murder rule” under which if you are in the process of committing a crime, and as a result someone dies, the charge against you is upgraded to Murder.
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