Murder

Killing another person is among the severest violent crimes in Los Angeles. It is also highly punishable and can result in life imprisonment, a substantial court fine, and other life-altering consequences. However, the court handles such cases according to their circumstances and the defendant’s criminal history. A skilled attorney can explain the possible consequences of your charges after reviewing your case and the prosecutor’s evidence.

You can influence the outcome of your case if you partner with the right criminal defense attorney. Our experienced attorneys at CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, have handled numerous murder cases in the past. We understand the complex legal processes better and know the right defense strategies to use for the best possible outcome. We can partner with you to defend your rights, streamline the process, and also persuade the court to dismiss or reduce your charges.

The Definition of Murder Under California Law

Murder is the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought. This means you decide to take another person’s life, and deliberately make plans and take action to accomplish it. This is a particular crime, different from other crimes involving death, including manslaughter, because it has a specific criminal intent. Murder is devastating because the life of another person is lost in another person’s premeditated actions.

In California, the crime of murder is prohibited under Penal Code 187. It is a general law that forbids the killing of another human being, including a foetus, with malice aforethought. A criminal charge for murder means that you committed the crime out of disregard for human life.

However, facing criminal charges for murder does not necessarily mean you are guilty. In all criminal proceedings, the prosecutor bears the burden of proof. They must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the said offense. This means proving all elements of the crime beyond any doubt. These elements constitute the legal meaning of the crime, and they are as follows:

There Was an Illegal Killing

Murder is simply taking the life of another person without any justifiable reasons. It means that your actions cannot be justified by any legal circumstances whatsoever. In this case, the prosecutor must prove that you killed another person, not out of self-defense, or state execution, but for an unjustifiable reason, or no reason at all.

The Killing Was of Another Person

Murder is committed against another human being, not an animal. There should be proof that the life of another person was taken through another person’s actions. The person must have been alive at the time you committed the crime.

You Acted with Malice Aforethought

This is a critical element because it distinguishes murder from other crimes that result in the death of a person. It is a specific criminal intent that the prosecutor must prove to obtain a guilty verdict in your case. Having malice aforethought does not necessarily mean that you hated the person, or that you have hatred of human beings. Instead, it is a specific state of mind that can be implied or expressed. This means that when you took action against the victim, you intended to do any of the following:

• To kill them
• To inflict a serious bodily injury on them
• To act against them with a reckless indifference to life, or a depraved heart, meaning that your actions were at a high degree of risk, such that you know or should have reasonably known that the person could lose their life.

Proving a murder case beyond a reasonable doubt is not always easy for prosecutors. While some of these elements are easy to prove, for example, the fact that someone lost their life, demonstrating a person’s intent can be challenging. Additionally, the prosecutor must prove the guilty act, or the physical action or purposeful failure that took the life of the other person. They must convince the court that your actions were a direct cause of the person’s death, and not an underlying issue, or something else in the environment. Your intent to take the life of a person, and the actual act, must have occurred at the same time.

If the prosecutor meets the burden of proof, the court will find you guilty of murder. However, if the prosecutor cannot prove all the elements beyond a reasonable doubt, the court can dismiss or reduce your charges. You can also challenge one or more of these elements to trigger a favorable outcome in your case. If this works, you could avoid the serious consequences of a murder conviction. A skilled criminal attorney can help you put up a solid defense against your charges.

Different Categories of a Murder Charge in California

The crime of murder is categorized into different types, according to the specifics of a case. These categories are as follows:

First-Degree Murder

This is the severest murder charge that you can face under California law. It involves the willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of another person. Examples of circumstances that can result in a first-degree murder charge include the following:

• Taking another person’s life through poisoning or torture
• Using an explosive device or a weapon of mass destruction against one or more people
• Killing a person while lying in wait
• Committing a felony murder, whereby someone loses their life while you are committing a dangerous felony like arson, carjacking, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, mayhem, or some types of sex crimes.

In felony murder cases, the prosecutor files first-degree murder charges even if you did not intend to kill a person. What matters is that the murder happened while you were engaging in another dangerous felony.

A conviction for first-degree murder is punishable by 25 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole. You could get the death penalty, depending on the severity of your case.

In exceptional circumstances, the judge can enhance your sentence. This means that you will receive an additional sentence to serve concurrently with the underlying sentence for the murder conviction. Here are examples of circumstances that can result in an enhanced sentence:

• If you committed the crime for financial gain
• If you committed multiple murders at once
• If the victim of your crime was a protected officer, like a policeman, firefighter, prosecutor, or judge, and they were in their line of duty
• If you committed the crime while committing another serious felony, like arson, kidnapping, or robbery
• If the victim was a witness, and you intended to stop their testimony
• If it were a hate crime, or you committed the crime because of the person’s gender, sexual orientation, religion, or race
• If you were lying in wait when you committed the crime, you poisoned the victim or used a destructive device

In addition to the prison or death sentence, the judge can sentence you to the following penalties:

• A court fine of $10,000 or more, together with other legal fees
• Victim restitution to the family of the deceased person
• Loss of gun rights for life

Additionally, murder is a strike under the California Three Strikes Law. This means that having a strike on your criminal record will affect penalties for other strike convictions you will likely receive in the future.

Second-Degree Murder

This is a less severe offense than first-degree murder. If you committed murder, but did not have a specific intent to take another person’s life or seriously injure them, the prosecutor can file second-degree murder charges against you. A second-degree murder charge happens when you kill another person with malice aforethought, but did not act with deliberation or premeditation. In most cases, when a prosecutor cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you premeditated or intended to kill a person, they resort to second-degree murder.

The penalties for second-degree murder include fifteen years to life in prison, with the possibility of parole. You must serve the fifteen-year sentence before you are eligible for parole.

Additionally, the judge can enhance your sentence in case of aggravating factors, as mentioned above. When this happens, you will receive an additional sentence, which you must serve concurrently with the sentence for the underlying murder case.

Here are circumstances that can result in a second-degree murder charge:

• You cause a fatal accident while driving while intoxicated, killing another person. This is also called the Watson murder
• You discharge a gun in a crowded room and kill a person, even without a prior intent to kill anyone
• You get into a fight while high on drugs or alcohol, and beat another person to death, or cause them to sustain a fatal injury.

In these cases, the prosecutor does not need to prove that you planned the murder. However, you should have reasonably known that your actions could cause the death or severe injury of another person.

Capital Murder

The prosecutor can also file capital murder charges against you for killing another person. Capital murder happens when you commit a crime under exceptional circumstances. The special circumstances make the crime more severe, making you eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. Some of the special circumstances that could result in this charge include the following:

• Killing a person for a financial benefit
• Murdering a key witness to prevent their testimony
• Murdering a protected person or a peace officer, like a police officer or a firefighter
• Committing murder as a hate crime, or for the benefit of an illegal gang
• Killing multiple people at a go

Felony Murder

You could also be charged with felony murder in the first or second degree. Remember that felony murder occurs when you murder while committing a dangerous felony. This can happen in various circumstances, and these circumstances, along with your criminal history, will determine the exact charges the prosecutor will bring against you.

For example, if you accidentally killed a store owner while robbing their home, the prosecutor will disregard the fact that the killing was accidental. This is because you were committing a serious felony in the first place. This makes your actions a felony murder in the first degree.

The felony murder rule in California also includes accomplices of such crimes. If you are just an accomplice, and someone is killed while you are helping another person commit a dangerous felony, you will also face the exact charges as the main perpetrator. This makes you guilty of a felony murder in the first or second degree, regardless of the extent of your involvement.

An accomplice is as liable as the main perpetrator in the following circumstances:

• They were the actual killers
• With the intent to kill, they conspired with, solicited, induced, commanded, aided, assisted, or requested the actual perpetrator
• The victim they acted against was a police officer, or any other protected person, and the accomplice knew or should have reasonably known that the person was in their line of duty at the time of their murder
• The accomplice was a significant participant in the felony that resulted in the death of another person
• They acted with a reckless disregard for the victim’s life

Generally, prosecutors file felony murder in the first degree charges if the underlying felony is any of the following:

• Torture, under Penal Code 206
• Mayhem, under Penal Code 203
• Robbery under Penal Code 211
• Kidnapping under Penal Code 207
• Carjacking under Penal Code 215
• Burglary under Penal Code 459
• Arson under Penal Code 451
• Sex crimes like rape (PC 261), oral copulation (PC 287), Sodomy (PC 286), lascivious acts with a minor (PC 288), and forcible sexual penetration (PC 289).

If the underlying felony is not listed as severe under the law, the prosecutor will likely file second-degree felony murder charges against you. However, they will consider other circumstances of your case to determine the actual charges against you.

Related Homicide Charges

California law has other homicides that are related to murder that you should be aware of. These are generally less severe than murder because they lack a critical element that makes murder a severe crime under the law. This particular element is ‘malice aforethought,’ which includes prior planning before committing murder. These homicides include the following:

• Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional killing of another person, which occurs in the heat of passion. It can be triggered by a sudden quarrel, where one person does not have enough time to cool off and takes out their anger on the other.
• Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another person. It can result from criminal negligence or an unlawful act that is not a felony, but which results in the death of a person.
• Vehicular manslaughter is the unlawful killing of another person while you are driving a car. This is a wobbler offense, meaning that the prosecutor can charge you with a misdemeanor or a felony. The primary determining factor is whether you committed the offense while intoxicated, as well as your level of negligence.

You can use these related homicides as plea bargains if the prosecutor lacks sufficient evidence to prove a murder case. A skilled attorney will consider the circumstances of your case and the strength of the evidence against you to advise you to take or decline the plea deal.

How To Fight a Murder Charge in California

A murder charge is severe, mainly because of the severe penalties that follow a conviction. Having a murder conviction on your record will significantly impact various aspects of your life for life. You will likely face difficulties finding suitable employment or a suitable rental property in an appropriate neighborhood. However, you can influence the outcome of your case with the help of a competent attorney. A skilled criminal defense attorney will use the best defense strategies to fight your murder charge during the trial. They can convince the court to reduce or drop your charges.

Here are some of the defense strategies that can produce a favorable outcome in your case:

You Acted in Self Defense or Defense of Others

Self-defense is a viable defense strategy that works effectively in most cases involving violence. Legally, a person is allowed to use force against another person if they or someone else is in danger of harm. In murder cases, a murder technically happens when you kill another person without a justifiable reason. If you acted in self-defense, this can be a good reason for the court to reconsider your charges. You may use this defense strategy successfully if the following are true:

• You had a reasonable belief that your life, or another person’s life, was in imminent danger, or you believed that the alleged victim was about to kill or seriously injure you.
• This belief compelled you to use force against the person to counter the threat. In this case, the force was necessary to protect you from death or injury.
• Although you used force, it was reasonable enough to counter the threat you faced at the time.

These guidelines outline the use of force against another person in self-defense or defense of others. However, if it is established that you used more force than necessary, the court may decline this defense strategy. A competent attorney should be able to demonstrate that your life or the life of another person was in danger at the time. If this works, the court will dismiss your charges.

The Killing Was Accidental

A murder conviction requires the perpetrator to have acted with malice aforethought. This is a critical element that is lacking if your actions were accidental. A murder charge happens if you premeditated and made plans to kill another person. You can challenge your charges if you did not premeditate or make any plans, but someone lost their life through your actions.

An experienced attorney will counter your charges by proving to the court that you lacked the criminal intent to kill the person. It could be that you acted negligently, but did not intend, or even plan, the murder. They can also argue that you were engaged in a legal act at the time, and that the murder was only by accident. If this works, the court will dismiss your charges.

Also, remember that in a murder trial, the prosecutor must prove all the elements of your case beyond a reasonable doubt. If this does not happen, the court will dismiss your charges. If the murder was accidental, the prosecutor may face difficulties proving that you acted with malice aforethought, compelling the court to rule the case in your favor.

Your Confession Was Coerced

If the most compelling evidence against you is a coerced confession, a skilled attorney can bring it up in court to fight for a favorable resolution in your case. While the police are mandated to gather evidence and conduct arrests in California, they must act legally in all circumstances and refrain from violating human rights. For example, they must ensure you understand your rights during the arrest, and must respect those rights to the end. Since you have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney after an arrest, the police must not force or coerce you to confess, even if you are guilty of murder.

If your rights were violated, any evidence gathered through that violation should be thrown out of court. This may leave the prosecutor with insufficient evidence to obtain a guilty verdict in your case.

The Insanity Defense

You are not guilty of murder if you kill another person while in the wrong state of mind. California courts allow this defense strategy if a defense attorney can prove that their client was not of right mind to understand the nature and consequences of their actions. They can argue that you acted the way you did because you were in a state of depression or insanity because of an underlying matter. If this is true, the judge may recommend treatment and rehabilitation, instead of sentencing you to prison.

Find an Experienced Criminal Attorney Near Me

Do you or someone you love face murder charges in Los Angeles?

A murder conviction can result in devastating consequences, including severe criminal penalties and life-changing consequences. However, an experienced attorney can help you fight your charges for a favorable outcome. With their help, you could avoid a conviction or get a sentence for a less-severe offense.

At CCLG: Los Angeles Criminal Attorney, we understand how devastating an arrest for murder can be. We can guide you through the challenging process, defending your rights, explaining your legal options, and developing a comprehensive defense against your charges. Call us at 323-922-3418 to discuss our services further.