Murder cases, among the most severe in the criminal justice system, carry a weight of gravity that cannot be understated. The defense strategy you choose is intricately tied to the nature of the charges against you.  It's a matter of examining the evidence the prosecutors claim to have against you and then formulating your defense.

California Penal Code 187 describes the crime of murder as the unlawful killing of someone or a fetus with malice aforethought. First-degree murder charges will be filed for all premeditated killings and felony murder involving a scenario where someone dies during a rape, carjacking, robbery, or other serious offense.

A first-degree murder conviction in California carries a severe penalty of 25 years to life in a state prison. If the killing involved torture, lying in wait, or a 'special circumstance,' the penalties escalate to life in prison without parole or even capital punishment. These are the high stakes you are up against.

If the case didn't involve premeditation, you would be charged with second-degree murder, carrying 15 years to life in prison if convicted. In this article by our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys, we will review this topic further below.

What is a First-Degree Murder?

Prosecutors would file first-degree murder charges if the killing were willful, deliberate, and premeditated. Simply put, it was a planned, intentional act.

Further, you could also face first-degree murder charges if the killing involved a destructive device, explosive, or ammunition in penetrating metal or armor, poison, lying in wait, or inflicting torture.

What is a Second-Degree Murder?

Under California Penal Code 187 PC, second-degree murder is a willful act, but it's not deliberate, and there was no premeditation.

In other words, second-degree murder is any murder that doesn't fall under the category of first-degree murder. For example, firing a weapon toward a crowd of people made no intent to kill someone.

What is Capital Murder?

Capital murder is often called first-degree murder with special circumstances, which include a wide range of situations, such as;

• killing of a police officer or firefighter;
• killing a prosecutor, judge, or elected official;
• killing someone due to their race, religion, or country of origin;
• Killing was for the benefit of a gang or a drive-by shooting;
• Killing a witness to stop them from testifying;
• Killing was for financial gain;
• Killing more than one person.

What Are the Common Legal Defenses for Murder?

There are multiple different defenses that I have used over the last 30 years in defending people charged with murder.  Sometimes, you'll use self-defense, indicating that I was the one who killed the other person; however, I did so in self-defense.

Usually, to use the self-defense theory, you're going to have to be able to show that you were confronted with some deadly force – whether the other party had a weapon, a knife, or a gun, or it was a scenario where you were involved in a fight.  You were losing the fight to such a high degree that you could have been killed, so you were forced to defend yourself. Other defenses could be that you are not the person who committed the murder:

• You don't believe the prosecutors can prove it;
• You didn't do it;
• They don't have eyewitnesses;
• They don't have video evidence;
• They don't have physical evidence like ballistics, DNA, or whatever the case may be.

So, you have to look at what type of case you have and then decide exactly what the defense will be.  Sometimes, the defense has to deal with problems with the prosecutor's case.  Prosecutors don't always have perfect evidence when it comes to murder cases.

Review of the Prosecutor's Evidence

I like to sit down with you, discuss the evidence on the other side, and then discuss what we're going to do in defending you.

Another big thing in murder cases when you're talking about the best strategy to handle them is that you have to decide whether or not you, as a defendant, will testify in the case.

In other words, sometimes, strategy-wise, it makes sense for you to testify because there might be gaps in the defense. We want to make sure that if there are gaps, we're able to cover those gaps, and sometimes, having you testify and put your side of the story out there makes sense.

On the flip side, testifying can sometimes be dangerous, again, depending on the circumstances of a particular case.  So, you have to look at everything as we decide exactly how we're going to handle the case – whether it's going to be a scenario where you testify or not.

We will also want to do our investigation—talk to witnesses, examine the prosecutor's case, and then decide what will give you the best defense.

Should You Go to Trail or Negotiate a Plea Bargain?

Once we've done our investigation and looked at the prosecutor's case, we will sit down and decide exactly how to handle the case.  Another significant factor is do we take the case to trial, and if we are going to take the case to trial, what's our theory going to be as to why you or your loved one is being blamed for a murder that they did not commit?

We've got to assess how the prosecutors are going to attack us – how they're going to say they've proven their case because once we do that, we can develop our defense and decide what our response to that attack will be.

Of course, the response has to make sense and lead to the conclusion that you or your loved one is innocent, you didn't commit the crime, and the prosecutors have not proven the case. If guilt is not in doubt, we should consider negotiating a favorable plea bargain.

With over 30 years of experience, I am here to guide you through this challenging time.  I've worked for the District Attorney's office, for a Superior Court judge, and as a criminal defense attorney.  I've handled numerous murder cases  and over 250 jury trials.  You can trust that you're in capable hands.

If you need the best, and I think you do if you're being charged with murder because you're usually facing the rest of your life in prison, you've come to the right place.

Pick up the phone.  Make the call.  Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding.  I stand at the ready to help you. The Hedding Law Firm is located in Los Angeles County, and we offer a free case review by phone or by filling out the contact form.