Homicide is the unlawful killing of another human being (not an accident or mistake).  The most serious is murder, and in Pennsylvania it can be charged as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree murder.  There is also voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.  Here is a basic breakdown on each. 

1st DEGREE MURDER

Under Pennsylvania law, 1st-degree murder is intentional and premeditated.  It requires specific intent to kill—not to injure or hurt someone.  Examples would be poisoning someone, lying in wait, or simply planning and carrying out the plan to kill someone.  A conviction for 1st degree murder requires either life in prison without parole, or exposure to the death penalty under certain circumstances.  There are no other sentencing options for 1st degree murder. 

To prove 1st degree murder, the prosecutor has to prove pre-meditation, which means a planned killing.  The planning doesn’t have to be for months or weeks, and could arise in almost an instant.  However, a split-second emotional decision does not usually result in 1st degree charges.

Another thing to understand is that use of a deadly weapon (a gun, a baseball bat, a vehicle) on a vital part of the human body allows specific intent to kill to be presumed.  However, there still also needs to be a conscious decision to take a life. 

2ND DEGREE MURDER

Under Pennsylvania law,2nd degree murder, often called felony murder, is a homicide (killing another person) while also engaged in committing a certain category of felony such as robbery, rape, arson, burglary, or kidnapping.   It carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole. 

An important thing to understand is that a person can be convicted of 2nd degree murder, even if he did not do the actually killing (e.g. was not the person who held the gun and pulled the trigger), as long as he was involved in the underlying felony (e.g. robbery for example), that led to the victim being killed.  This type of murder also applies if the underlying felony was attempted, but not successful, and a death occurred.  It can also apply if a death occurred while trying to flee after the underlying felony.  So, the prosecutor never has to prove that the accused person wanted the victim to die, but simply that the accused person had intent to participate in the underlying felony, during which a death resulted.

However, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and state legislature are currently reviewing the constitutionality of mandatory life sentences for felony murder where the accused person did not personally kill the victim.

For juveniles under 18 charged with 2nd degree murder, there have been some changes in Pennsylvania law.  As it currently stands, a juvenile who was under 15 at the time of the offense faces a sentence of at least 20 years in prison and up to life in prison, which provides some discretion to the court, rather than the mandatory life in prison.  For juveniles who were between 15-17 years old, it is a mandatory sentence of at least 30 years in prison and up to life in prison.

3RD DEGREE MURDER

Under Pennsylvania law, 3rd degree murder is killing someone with malice that is not classified as first-degree (intentional/premeditated) or second-degree (felony murder). It involves extreme recklessness or a disregard for human life.  The person does not have to have specific intent to kill the victim.  It is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.  If the victim was under 13, there is a mandatory minimum of at least 15 years in prison, though some judges would impose much more. 

What is malice?  It is defined as “wickedness of disposition and hardness of heart” or a conscious disregard for an unjustified and extremely high risk that someone’s life will be taken.  This is the category that is often charged when the prosecutor is not sure how much premeditation (planning) the accused person had to kill the victim, and the felony murder (2nd degree) doesn’t apply to the circumstances.

 

Some common examples of 3rd degree murder:  selling drugs to someone who then dies by overdose, a fatal bar fight with fists or bottles, severe reckless driving (extremely under the influence or extreme speed), or when the accused intended to severely injure the victim but not kill them, but killed them anyway.

 

An offense that is close and can confuse judges and attorneys is manslaughter, which only requires gross negligence, whereas 3rddegree murder requires a higher level of recklessness with malice. 

 

VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

In Pennsylvania, voluntary manslaughter is a first-degree felony, defined as an intentional killing without lawful justification while acting under a sudden, intense passion resulting from serious provocation, or based on an unreasonable belief that the killing was justified.  The sentence can be up to 20 years in prison, or between 25 years and up to life for repeat violent offenders. 

A couple of things to understand:  The killing must occur while the person is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the victim or another person they intended to kill. 

This is the correct offense if the person intentionally kills someone, but believed it was justified (for example—self defense), but that belief was not reasonable. 

The heat of passion requirement means that there was legitimate provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose control.  If it’s a very minor provocation, like name-calling, that would not usually be sufficient.

Some common defenses to this charge are that the person was acting only in self-defense (as defined under Pennsylvania law), that it an accidental killing without intent, that the person was acting with diminished capacity or was legally insane (both are mental health defenses). 

Unlike murder charges, voluntary manslaughter involves circumstances that lower responsibility, but do not fully excuse the killing, such as extreme emotional distress or imperfect self-defense.  Voluntary manslaughter is different from involuntary manslaughter, which is explained below. 

Some common examples would be attempting to kill someone in the heat of passion and killing the wrong target, using deadly force while claiming self-defense that is rejected as not legitimate deadly force because it’s unreasonable, and finding a spouse in bed with another lover. 

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

In Pennsylvania, involuntary manslaughter is the causing of another person’s death through reckless or grossly negligent conduct, or during the commission of an unlawful act.  It is generally a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, but elevates to a second-degree felony (up to 10 years) if the victim is under 12 or the victim is under the care, custody or control of the accused. 

It means that the accused killed another person without malice (an evil heart) but through recklessness or gross negligence.  The prosecutor has to prove the person’s death was the direct result of that recklessness or gross negligence.

A common defense would be a claim that the accused actions were not the direct cause of death, or that it was a true accident, or that the accused was not even grossly negligent.

Involuntary manslaughter differs from voluntary manslaughter because it lacks the heat of passion intentional killing element. 

Some common examples would be: causing a fatal car accident while speeding or texting, providing alcohol to a minor who the dies from a car accident or alcohol poisoning, swimming pool drowning of minors in care of an adult, and mishandling of firearms.

ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE

Attempted homicide in Pennsylvania means the attempt to kill.  It requires that the accused person made a serious effort to kill another person.  Mere thoughts or planning are not enough.  Equally important, it requires specific intent to kill, not to simply injure or maim someone.  It carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, but if the victim had serious bodily injury, it can be up to 40 years in prison. 

Some common examples would be shooting at someone (who does not die), trying to run someone over with a vehicle, or hiring a hitman. 

The most common defenses raised with this charge are self-defense, and lack of specific intent to kill.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

If you are facing homicide or attempted homicide charges in some form, it is imperative to hire counsel at the beginning of such cases, or even before charges are filed. Often experienced defense counsel can have a profound effect on the way that such cases proceed through the court system. Experienced counsel frequently utilize an army of experts to consult regarding forensic evidence, including DNA, blood/serology, ballistics/weapons, handwriting, fingerprints, electronic interceptions including audio/voice analysis and videography. Defense counsel will typically also consult with mental health professionals to determine whether there are mental defenses to be raised in such cases.