Homicide Charges Defense Attorney

the intended victim was a police officer who was engaged in the course of his or her official duties;
the intended victim was a peace officer who was engaged in the course of his or her official duties;
the intended victim was a firefighter, emergency medical technician, ambulance driver, paramedic, physician, or registered nurse involved in a first response team who was engaged in the course of his or her official duties;
the intended victim was an employee of a state correctional institution or local correctional facility who was engaged in the course of performing his or her duties;
the defendant committed the murder following his or her escape from confinement in a state correctional institution during a life sentence or an indeterminate term, the minimum of which was at least fifteen years and the maximum of which was life.
the intended victim was a witness to a crime committed on a prior occasion and the death was caused for the purpose of preventing the intended victim's testimony or the purpose of exacting retribution for prior testimony;
the defendant committed the killing or procured commission of the killing pursuant to an agreement with a person other than the intended victim to commit the same for the receipt, or in expectation of the receipt, of anything of pecuniary value;
the victim was killed while the defendant was in the course of committing or attempting to commit and in furtherance of a specific felony offense, and the victim was not a participant in the felony offense.
the defendant, with intent to cause serious physical injury to or death of an additional person or persons, causes the death of an additional person or persons who are not participants in the crime.
the defendant was previously convicted of murder.
the defendant acted in an especially cruel and wanton manner pursuant to a course of conduct intended to inflict and inflicting torture upon the victim prior to the victim's death.
the defendant intentionally caused the death of two or more additional persons within the state in separate criminal transactions within a period of twenty-four months when committed in a similar fashion or pursuant to a common scheme or plan.
the intended victim was a judge and the defendant committed the killing because the victim was a judge; or
The victim was killed in furtherance of an act of terrorism.

Additionally, the defendant is required to be over eighteen years old at the time of the killing to constitute murder in the first degree.

This is a Class A-I felony that is defined as causing the death of a firefighter, first responder, other emergency responder, police officer, uniformed court officer, parole officer, community supervision officer, probation officer, corrections officer, or an employee of the Office of Children and Family Services engaged in the course of his or her official duties at the time of the killing, with the intent to cause the death of another person. A person can also be found guilty of aggravated murder if he or she intentionally causes the death of a child through the use of torture.

The defendant is required to be over eighteen years old at the time of the killing for it to constitute aggravated murder.

This is a Class A-I felony that is defined as causing the death of another person or third person with the intent to cause the death of another person, or causing the death of another person who is not engaged in the course of a crime, while the defendant is in the course of the commission or attempted commission of a specific felony offense. A person can also be found guilty of murder in the second degree when, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, he or she recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of that person, or when, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life and being eighteen years old or more, he or she recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of serious physical injury or death to a person less than eleven years old and thereby causes the death of such person. Additionally, a person can be found guilty of murder in the second degree if he or she is eighteen years old or older, and while in the course of committing a specific sexual offense against another person less than fourteen years old, he or she intentionally causes the death of such person.

This is a Class B violent felony that is defined as causing the death of a police officer or peace officer engaged in the course of his or her official duties when intending to cause serious physical injury to such person. A person can also be found guilty of aggravated manslaughter in the first degree when the defendant intends to cause the death of a police officer or peace officer engaged in the course of his or her official duties, and the defendant does cause the death of such police officer or peace officer or another police officer or peace officer, but the defendant was experiencing an extreme emotional disturbance at the time of the offense.

This is a Class B felony. A person can be found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when, with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person. A person can also be found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when, being eighteen years old or older and with intent to cause physical injury to a person less than eleven years old, he or she recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of serious physical injury to such person and thereby causes the death of such person. Additionally, a person can be found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree when, with intent to cause the death of another person, he or she causes the death of such person or of a third person while under extreme emotional disturbance.

This is a Class B felony. A person can be found guilty of aggravated vehicular homicide when he or she engages in reckless driving and commits the crime of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and does so while operating a motor vehicle while he or she has a blood alcohol level of .18 or more. A person can also be found guilty of aggravated vehicular manslaughter when he or she engages in reckless driving and commits the crime of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and causes the death of more than one person or causes the death of one person and the serious physical injury of at least one other person. Additionally, a person can be found guilty of aggravated vehicular manslaughter when he or she engages in reckless driving and commits the crime of vehicular manslaughter in the second degree and does so while operating a motor vehicle while a child who is fifteen years of age or less is a passenger in such motor vehicle and causes the death of such child.

This is a Class C felony that is defined as operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .18 and, as a result of the intoxication, causing the death of another person due to the manner in which the motor vehicle was operated. A person can also be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter in the first degree when he or she operates a motor vehicle or vessel while intoxicated, impaired, or with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more, and as a result, the motor vehicle or vessel is operated in a manner that causes the death of a passenger in the vehicle who was fifteen years old or less. Additionally, a person can be found guilty of vehicular manslaughter in the first degree when he or she is intoxicated, impaired, or with a blood alcohol level of .08 or more, and as a result, the motor vehicle is operated in a manner that causes the death of more than one person.

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