What is Second Degree Murder?

Second degree murder is the act of intentionally killing a human person without the presence of premeditation or planning. Second degree murder is not caused by dangerous conduct or the perpetrator’s lack of concern for human life. It is less serious than first degree murder but more serious than voluntary manslaughter.

According to the law, first degree murder is perpetrated by means of poison, lying in wait or any other type of willful, intentional killing with presence of premeditation or which will be committed in the perpetration or attempt to perpetrate any arson, rape, robbery or burglary. Any other types of murder other than the ones mentioned will be classified as second degree murder.

Second degree murder is a crime. An individual commits the offense if he does the following:

1. Knowingly causes the death of another individual or with the purpose of causing serious physical harm to another individual, causes the death of another individual.

2. Commits or attempts to commit any felony and in the perpetration or the attempted perpetration of such felony or in the flight from the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony, another individual is killed as a result of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of such felony or immediate flight from the perpetration of such felony or attempted perpetration of such felony.

Second degree murder is a class A felony and the punishment for second degree murder shall be in addition to the punishment for commission of a related felony or attempted felony other than murder or manslaughter. Any second degree murder charge shall have the jury instructed and considered all the subdivisions of the statutes, evidences and other requests by the parties.

An example of second degree murder would be this scenario. Person 1’s daughter was raped by Person 2. One week later, Person 1 saw Person 2 walking on one busy city street. Person 1 pulls out a gun and fires a full round at Person 2. However, all the shots missed Person 2 but hit a lady passerby instead. Person 1 will then be guilty of second degree murder due to intent of murder but lack of premeditation in causing the death of the lady passerby. Other examples of second degree murder are driving under the influence or DUI and DWI. A drunk driver with implied malice or conscious intent or disregard for human life during the act of killing will be charged with felony second degree murder.

Punishment For Second Degree Murder

An individual found guilty of second degree murder can be penalized by fines and imprisonment. Fines can range from $10,000 to $1,000,000 depending on seriousness and damages. The individual can be imprisoned from five to twenty years. However, if a prior prison term for murder has been served and accumulated counts of other criminal acts are charged, the individual may be imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.

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