One of the most frightening experiences that can happen to someone is being accused of murder or manslaughter. Facing these types of allegations is so serious it requires a hard and aggressive defense. The difference between freedom and spending the rest of a person’s life in prison may lie in telling his or her side with a reputable team of criminal defense attorneys. This Criminal Attorney in Hattiesburg should fight alongside the defendant on their murder charge.
Murder is defined as unlawfully killing another human being with malice aforethought. Premeditation is the express or implicit mental state of killing or harming someone before acting upon it. This does not mean there is hatred or malice against the victim, though. Premeditation can be proved by direct evidence, not circumstantial. Premeditation can include these states of mind:
• Specific intent to kill someone.
• Intent to cause death or serious bodily injury.
• Indifference or lack of conscious consideration of the consequences of an act likely to cause death.
• Intent to commit a felony (inherently dangerous felony such as robbery, kidnapping, burglary, grand theft auto) which results in death (murder, by rule, is a felony).
Murder is not the same as homicide. In fact, homicide is one person killing another. Homicide includes murder, manslaughter, justifiable or legal murder (as in self-defense or in defense of another person, and truly accidental killings). Murder is a category or a subset of homicide. Knowing the penalties associated with murder can help a defense greatly.
First-degree murder (without aggravating circumstances) usually sees a prison term of twenty-five years to life in prison. First degree murder motivated by hate or prejudice carries a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. If there are aggravating circumstances, the sentence carries life in prison without the possibility of parole. Second-degree murder is fifteen years to life in a Mississippi state prison.
Voluntary manslaughter with extenuating circumstances will cost a defendant anywhere between 2 and 12 years in prison. However, if the crime is involuntary or negligent homicide that occurs during a misdemeanor, the maximum sentence is one year in county jail and a fine up to $1,000. Hiring a Criminal Attorney in Hattiesburg can help a defendant decrease their time in jail and even miss out on serving time altogether.
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