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Sometimes referred to as homicide, murder is defined in Penal Code 187(a) as the “unlawful and intentional killing of a human being by another with malice of aforethought.” Simply put, this means intentionally killing someone or acting with wanton disregard for human life. The classic examples of murder are shooting someone, bludgeoning someone, or hiring an assassin to kill someone. However, murder also includes driving drunk that results in killing someone.
A conviction for murder almost always results in a 25 years-to-life sentence in state prison. However, this penalty can be enhanced to without the possibility of parole or the death penalty due to a number of factors such as whether or not the murder was a “hate crime,” if it was for financial gain, to silence a witness to another crime, or whether or not the killing was part of a drive-by shooting.
If you are being charged with or investigated for murder, we invite you to contact us immediately. Walk Free Law attorneys have years of experience defending people against murder charges, and our firm draws upon the support of private investigators, forensic analysts, DNA experts, and jury consultants to provide the best defense possible for your outcome.
Self-defense is a common defense for killing another person. If you can prove that you reasonably believed that you or another person were in imminent danger of being killed, suffering great bodily injury, being raped, or being the victim of some other crime of force, you may take whatever measures are reasonably necessary, including the use of deadly force, to stop that from happening.
If you kill someone accidentally, it is not murder. If you kill someone but had no criminal intent, were not acting negligently or recklessly, or were not committing another crime at the time of the killing, then you have a legitimate defense to a murder charge.
Police can be zealous in their investigation and interrogation methods when trying to solve a murder. However, they are not allowed to make threats towards the suspect or his/her family, which includes threatening the suspect with the death penalty or offering more lenient treatment in exchange for a confession. If the police have used such coercive tactics to force an involuntary confession from you, our firm will take action to have the confession suppressed as evidence.
California search and seizure laws limit the power of the police to search your person and property. Through a preliminary investigation, we can determine if the police have violated your Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. If the motion to suppress is granted, the prosecution’s case will likely be rendered invalid for lack of evidence.
