“Thou shall not kill” is how we understand it in English, but the literal translation of the well-known commandment is “You shall not murder.” And there is a big different. Some killings are murders, some are not. Some are justified and not crimes at all. Of those not justified, here are several forms of homicide in Arizona.
1. Negligent Homicide. The statute in question, A.R.S. 13-1102A, states that this offense consists of causing another person’s death with criminal negligence. Criminal negligence, in turn, is defined as disregarding a significant risk that death may occur. The act by the defendant must, to satisfy the elements of negligent homicide, constitute a “gross deviation” of the standard of care that would be observed by a reasonable person under the circumstances. Additional provisions deal with the death of an unborn child. Negligent homicide is a Class 4 felony.
2. Manslaughter is an offense that covers a number of different situations. Those situations include causing a death through recklessness. A.R.S. 13-105(10)c defines “recklessness” as being aware of and consciously disregarding a “substantial and unjustifiable” risk. Again, the act must be a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that would be observed by our “hypothetical” reasonable person. Manslaughter is a Class 2 felony.
3. Second Degree Murder. An essential aspect of second degree (as opposed to first degree) murder is the absence of premeditation. It consists of intentionally causing the death of a person (including an unborn child), or doing so recklessly, demonstrating an extreme indifference to human life. It is a Class 1 felony. Note, however, that this section contains a number of protections for pregnant mothers and their physicians.
4. First Degree Murder. This is also a Class 1 felony. The classic definition of first degree murder is the intentional and premeditated killing of another human being. However, first degree murder can also consist of the commission of various offenses that result in death, among them certain forms of sexual assault, kidnapping, some drug crimes, arson, robbery, and others.
While this provides a guide to murder charges in Arizona, it raises the possibility of many plausible defenses, a number of which involve the defendant’s state of mind.
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