First Degree Murder and Its Penalties

Murder is the killing of another human being with “malice aforethought”. Malice aforethought means that there is intention with the performed killing. This element then makes the act considerable for express malice. First degree murder is a Class A felony, due to the fact that the killing was planned, ruling out the possibilities of frustration and accident. Another term synonymous with malice aforethought is premeditation, which means that the person who committed that crime has considered or thought of the crime carefully before it was carried out. 

First Degree Murder Defined

Since ending the life of another human being is a very grave crime, murder has been categorized according to degrees or intent. First degree murder is the gravest, since it involves special circumstances or preplanning of the act. Examples of first degree murders are murdering a crime witness, aborting an unborn fetus and acts of torture before killing. These circumstances garner premeditated acts that predispose the violator with the main intention to kill.

Although penalties for first degree murder are usually grave and sometimes unpardonable, there are still mitigating circumstances or factors that may help the violator reduce the gravity of the offense. Adequate provocation means that the violator was put into a state lacking self-control, thereby committing murder only as a response to the intended victim.

Unnecessary defensive force is another term for self defense, wherein the killing only resulted because another life was formerly in danger. Prevention of felony means that the murder was done in order to stop another criminal act. Coercion or necessity protects the violator, in the sense that the murder was forcefully ordered or threatened unto him to protect himself or the public. These mitigating circumstances, if rightfully proven, can reduce the offense to second degree level.

Punishment for First Degree Murder

First degree murder in some areas falls under the category of capital murder. As long as the act involves the ending of the life of another human being, it will thereby be penalized with capital punishment. Some areas in the United States enforce old laws with their relative punishments. First degree murder is penalized with life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole, under special terms. First degree murder with special circumstances is penalized with life imprisonment, without parole opportunities.

Other countries give punishment under certain guidelines. These may include the intent of killing, involvement of other criminal acts, like rape, abuse, etc; the person murdered, like a politician, peace officer, etc; the number of people murdered and the manner by which the murder was committed. These factors can aggravate the penalties. Depending on the laws of different nations, the violator may be tortured, imprisoned with financial compensation provided to victims’ families, or entirely expired by lethal injection, electrocution, or hanging. Expiration is more popularly called the death penalty.

Loopholes to First Degree Murder Charges

First degree murder charges are only relatively effective if the victim has successfully been eliminated. Murder crimes have created the “year and a day” rule that if the victim survives more than one year and one day, the violator will not be considered guilty. However, the United States and the United Kingdom have abolished this rule since causations for recurrent acts can still be present long after the indicated time period. This can greatly help identify premeditation in categorizing the murder under Class A.

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