What Are the Degrees of Murder in Illinois?

 Posted on December 00, 0000 in Criminal Defense

Murder is the most serious crime under Illinois law, but it is complicated in that it can be charged in different "degrees," which represent the exact seriousness of the crime. The highest degree of murder is the first degree, with second degree murder being less serious. The two crimes are similar in their elements, but there are key differences. First degree murders are intentional killings in violation of the law, whereas second degree murders are actions that would constitute first degree murder but for the influence of some factor making them less serious.

First Degree Murder

Killings with the highest level of intent in Illinois are designated first degree murder. In order to qualify for first degree murder, someone must undertake an act that kills someone, and the individual had to either intend to kill or seriously injure the person or at least he or she had to know that this act would kill or seriously injure the person. Alternatively, people can also be charged with first degree murder under Illinois's felony murder rule. This rule states that when a person kills someone in the course of committing a forcible felony, then the person is guilty of first degree murder regardless of his or her intent.

Second Degree Murder

Second degree murder is the next most serious class of homicide in Illinois. Second degree murder happens when a person would be committing first degree murder, except that one of two things are true. First, if the person is acting under a "sudden and intense passion" during the killing, then the first degree murder would be downgraded to a second degree murder. Importantly, a sudden and intense passion is not mere anger. It is something that might provoke a reasonable person into a homicidal rage.

One example often given of such an event would be a parent who sees his or her child struck and killed by a car and kills the driver in response. The parent is still guilty of a crime, but not as serious a crime as first degree murder.

The second situation in which first degree murder turns to second degree murder is where the killer unreasonably believed that he or she was acting in self defense. This applies to situations in which any reasonable person would not believe that his or her life was threatened. If the offender still truly thought that he or she was acting in self defense, then he or she would be able to see the charge reduced to second degree murder. Conversely, if the person reasonably believed that his or her life was threatened and he or she killed someone defending it, that would be a full defense against murder.