California Murder Law
Penal Code 187 PC
California Penal Code 187
Our Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys represent clients in murder and homicide cases throughout Los Angeles County, Riverside, San Bernardino and Orange County.
Murder in California under Penal Code Section 187 is defined as causing the death of another person with malice aforethought. Under California law, the punishment for murder is life in prison. When and whether parole is available depends on whether the conviction is for first or second degree murder, and whether special circumstances are found true.
The appropriate defenses to a murder charge depend on the individual case, but may include mistaken identification, accident, self-defense or justifiable homicide.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for, charged with or investigated for murder in Southern California under California Penal Cod 187, we urge you to speak with one of our criminal defense lawyers as quickly as possible.
Murder Law in California
Below is the Judicial Council of California's jury instruction for murder. It explains what the prosecution must prove before a person can be convicted of this charge:
To prove that the defendant is guilty of murder, the People must prove that:
1. The defendant committed an act that caused the death of another person or a fetus;
AND
2. When the defendant acted, he/she had a state of mind called malice aforethought;
AND
3. He/She killed without lawful excuse or justification.
Two kinds of malice aforethought exist: express malice and implied malice. Proof of either one is sufficient to establish the state of mind required for murder.
The murder defendant acted with express malice if he/she unlawfully intended to kill.
The murder defendant acted with implied malice if:
1. He/She intentionally committed an act;
2. The natural consequences of the act were dangerous to human life;
3. At the time he/she acted, he/she knew his/her act was dangerous to human life;
AND
4. He/She deliberately acted with conscious disregard for human or fetal life.
Malice aforethought does not require hatred or ill will toward the victim. It is a mental state that must be formed before the act that causes death is committed. It does not require deliberation or the passage of any particular period of time.
A fetus is an unborn human being that has progressed beyond the embryonic stage after major structures have been outlined, which occurs at seven to eight weeks of development.
An act causes death in a murder case if the death is the direct, natural, and probable consequence of the act and the death would not have happened without the act. A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of the circumstances established by the evidence.
Additional Resources Regarding Homicide
MurderVictims.com
Statistics, information and resources of murder victims.
Comparative Definitions of Murder
Encyclopedia discussion of murder law and policy in various jurisdictions.
