Washington DC Homicide Lawyer
Skilled DC Homicide Attorney
A Washington DC homicide lawyer will help guide you through the criminal justice system. Following is the basic information you would need if facing a homicide charge in Washington DC.
In Washington DC, a person is guilty of first degree murder when he or she specifically intends to kill another purposely with premeditation and deliberation, or kills while in the process of committing a felony. An individual is guilty of second degree murder in Washington DC if he or she has the required mental state before the killing, but the crime was not premeditated. In Washington DC, the punishment for first degree murder is a mandatory minimum 30-year prison term and can be up to life imprisonment without release. For further information on homicide charges, contact a Washington DC murder lawyer.
“Malice” in Washington DC is defined as an act done with either an intent to kill, intent to commit great bodily harm, or intent to create a very high risk of death or great bodily harm with the knowledge that death or great bodily harm is the probable result. In Washington DC, malice in the context of murder exists only when an unlawful homicide has been committed with the intention to unlawfully take away the life of a fellow human being, or with awareness of the danger and a conscious disregard for life.
In Washington DC, the distinction between first degree and second degree murder is that first degree murder requires premeditation, while second degree murder requires only proof of malice after the thought.
Malice also distinguishes murder from manslaughter in Washington DC. When someone acts upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion on sufficient provocation, or kills in the unreasonable, but good faith belief that deadly force is necessary in self-defense, then murder can be reduced to voluntary manslaughter.
