ipl-logo

Murder Vs Second Degree Murder Essay

587 Words3 Pages

Murder is the most severe crime that anyone can commit. In the United States, murder is split into three categories or can be also known as degrees. Depending on things like the offender's intent as well as the circumstances surrounding the crime, these different degrees of murder have different legal punishments and consequences. All in all, there are many differences between first, second, and third degree murder and the consequences that come with them.

First-degree murder is probably the most severe type of murder. It requires the offender to have intentionally wanted to kill the other person or people. First degree murder also means that the killer premeditatedly killed the victim. Premeditation means that the offender planned the murder in advance and most likely thought about the murder for days, weeks, or even months. First-degree murder additionally requires that the offender had a specific intention to kill the victim. Most courts address the “pre” part of premeditation when trying to find a punishment for the killer. Generally, the court looks for evidence or clues that the killer left behind that may show that he had the intent to kill the victim prior to the killing. According to FindLaw, …show more content…

Second-degree murder does not require premeditation like first degree murder does. The offender would have had to act impulsively or just in the heat of the moment. As reported by Cornell Law School, "Second-degree murder is ordinarily defined as an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable 'heat of passion’ or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life." (Cornell Law school Legal Information Institute) The consequences of second-degree murder also vary by the state someone lives in but normally includes a sentence of many years to life in

Show More
Related
692 Words | 3 Pages

“A jury may infer a defendant’s specific intent from the circumstances attending the act, the manner in which it is done, and the means used, among other factors.” Id. at 834. Moreover, the specific intent to maim may not be proven exclusively from evidence that the injury inflicted is permanently disfiguring. Id. In Ferrell, the defendant entered the victim’s apartment and, after a confrontation, shot one victim in the knee, and another victim in the neck paralyzing her.

Read More
557 Words | 3 Pages

“ ‘Motive’ is not an element of second degree murder. ....[t]he state is not obligated to prove that the accused had a cause or reason to commit the crime of second degree murder; it is required to prove that the accused had the ‘specific intent’ to commit the crime. ”State v. Johnson, 324 So.2d 349, 353 (La.1975). As a result, the court of appeal committed error in reversing the defendant's second degree murder conviction because of its misplaced view that the State failed to prove motive, which is not an element of the charged offense.2

Read More
504 Words | 3 Pages

According to my notes, second degree murder is murder without malice or intent. George Zimmerman pleaded not guilty on the charge because he felt he acted in self-defense. On July 23, 2013, Martin was acquitted of 2nd degree murder. During my research on the investigation of the case, there was no witnesses who seen, the shooting.

Read More
1930 Words | 8 Pages

Murder can be mitigated to voluntary manslaughter if defense can prove provocation. III. Analysis A. Can Issa be convicted of second-degree murder? Second-degree murder encompasses all homicides apart from those elevated to murder in the first-degree or mitigated to manslaughter. A defendant is guilty of a second-degree murder if there is the defendant’s voluntary actus reus, the causation of an unlawful death, and a concurrent mens rea of malice aforethought.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

Depending on the circumstances of the murder, this penalty can vary and some offenders can be let off with lighter sentences than others. Due to the offence being more major and there would likely be a jury present while this case was heard who would end up making the final decision determining the punishment for the crimes committed. Due to this case being a criminal matter, the burden of proof would be the responsibility of the prosecution. The burden of proof rests squarely on the prosecution to establish each element of an offence that bears the defendant's guilt.

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

On Sunday, November 13, 1842 a double murder occurred at Smith Farm in Old Fields, Long Island. The victims, Alexander Smith and and Rebecca Smith, were a wealthy, well- respected married couple who ran Smith farm. George Weeks, the Smiths farmhand, was reporting for work the monday after the murder and heard the dog barking from the work-shed by the Smiths house. George Weeks then became suspicious since the dog was usually inside with Mr. Smith. George then looked in the house and saw that the east room window was broken and Mr. and Mrs. Smith were lying on the floor covered in blood.

Read More
949 Words | 4 Pages

All of the parties involved will be charged with murder. There are limitations to this rule: Some courts require that the death was foreseeable; the crime being committed must be inherently dangerous; the felony committed in connection with the murder, has to be independent and one of the deaths must have been caused directly by one of the felons, and as a consequence of the crime. In State v. Goodseal the meaning of inherently dangerous had to be defined. Charles Goodseal had been released from prison in August, 1969.

Read More
928 Words | 4 Pages

In cases involving second-degree murder, the necessary mens rea is usually the intent to cause either death or serious bodily harm. Based on the information provided in this case, it can be reasonably inferred that Hassan Farhat and the 17 year old boy had the essential intention to harm or cause death to Issah Jünger. When the victim was rushed to the hospital, he barely had a chance of survival since he died not long after. This shows that the suspect clearly had the intent to kill the victim by shooting him in a specific

Read More
1255 Words | 6 Pages

Everyone would agree that first degree murder is unlawful and a threat to society, however; first degree murder does not have to be physical murder. A person can be charged with this degree of murder if they do something they know would lead to a person's murder, just as Bob Ewell did. One of the reasons why Bob Ewell is being charged with first degree

Read More
963 Words | 4 Pages

In most states, first-degree murder is defined as an unlawful killing that is both willful and premeditated, meaning that it was committed after planning or "lying in wait" for the victim. In addition, most states also adhere to a legal concept known as the "felony murder rule," under which a person commits first-degree murder if any death (even an accidental one) results from the commission of certain violent felonies. State laws categorizing murders into first, second and possibly third degrees generally require that the first-degree murders include three basic elements, such as: willfulness; deliberation; and premeditation. As to Mr. George Milton, in terms of willfulness, he had a specific intent to end a human life. Yet, whether he acted

Read More
1805 Words | 8 Pages

The intent to commit the felony is considered enough to prove malice for the conviction of murder. If a perpetrator intends only to rob a victim, but the victim or bystander dies during the commission of the robbery, the perpetrator can be charged

Read More
505 Words | 3 Pages

In the article, the author gives definitions for different kinds of homicide. The author also points out that when looking at from a legal standpoint, murder and homicide are two very different crimes. One of the author’s sources says that homicide is “the killing of one human being by another” (cite). He also goes on to say that murder is “the crime of unlawfully killing a person, especially with malice or aforethought. ”(cite)

Read More
851 Words | 4 Pages

The judge declares the “Murder in the first degree—premeditated homicide—is the most serious charge tried in our criminal courts. One man is dead. The life of another is at stake. If there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused … then you must declare him not guilty. If, however, there is no reasonable doubt, then he must be found guilty.

Read More
1956 Words | 8 Pages

What constitutes an intention to commit a criminal offence has been the focus of intense common law debate for more than three decades. Intention can be separated into two sub-sections: ‘direct intent’ and ‘oblique intent.’ The preponderance of murder cases deal with the concept of direct intent, and prove to be uncomplicated as the defendant embarks on a course of conduct to bring about a result which in fact occurs. When considering the concept of oblique intent, it is essential to look at the case of R v Woolin [1998] 1 WLR, alongside previous cases, to better understand how and why the appellate courts have developed the meaning of oblique intent. It is also important to note that in view of the uncertainty inherent in the judicial guidelines

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

Is there any credibility that the death penalty deters people from committing aggravated murder with such malice, or how about the probability of convicting an innocent person of capital punishment. Lastly, unlike society might think, the cost of an execution is substantially greater than life in prison. 153 people have been exonerated from death row since 1973, which means 153 people have been falsely convicted of a murder they did not commit due to faulty evidence, testimonies, and confessions that were given out of duress. An interview given by a woman who stated the guilt she felt has been awful, after she learned that the two men who were convicted of her cousin’s rape and murder were actually innocent and exonerated when DNA testing excluded them. In an article written by Christy Sheppard she states, “It is horrible to think that you prayed, wished, helped and condoned to bring harm to someone else and then to

Read More

More about Murder Vs Second Degree Murder Essay

Related Topics

Open Document