Murder in Connecticut law

Last updated

Murder in Connecticut is defined as the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the year 2021, the state had a murder rate somewhat below the median for the entire country. [1]

Contents

Definitions

Murder

Connecticut has four homicide offenses in total, including the two types of murder. Standard murder is defined as when a person, with intent to cause the death of another person, causes the death of such person or of a third person, or causes a suicide by force, duress, or deception. It is punishable by a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of 60 years in prison. [2]

Felony murder rule

Connecticut's felony murder rule is defined as when a victim dies as the result of a perpetration of a violent felony, regardless of intent to kill. Felony murder is punished as the crime of standard murder. [3] [4]

Murder with special circumstances

The most serious form of homicide in Connecticut is murder with special circumstances. Murder with special circumstances constitutes the crime of murder with one of the following circumstances present: [2] [5]

Murder with special circumstances is punished only by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. [4] [5] The death penalty is not an option since Connecticut abolished the death penalty in 2012.

Penalties

The sentences for homicide offenses in Connecticut are listed below. [4]

OffenseMandatory sentence
Criminally negligent homicide Up to 1 year in jail
Second-degree manslaughterUp to 10 years in prison
First-degree manslaughter 1 to 40 years in prison
Murder25 to 60 years in prison
Murder with special circumstances Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole

See also

Related Research Articles

The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime, the offender, and also the offender's accomplices or co-conspirators, may be found guilty of murder.

Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty. In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. Some jurisdictions that provide for death as a possible punishment for murder, such as California, do not have a specific statute creating or defining a crime known as capital murder; instead, death is one of the possible sentences for certain kinds of murder. In these cases, "capital murder" is not a phrase used in the legal system but may still be used by others such as the media.

Capital punishment in Connecticut formerly existed as an available sanction for a criminal defendant upon conviction for the commission of a capital offense. Since the 1976 United States Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia until Connecticut repealed capital punishment in 2012, Connecticut had only executed one person, Michael Bruce Ross in 2005. Initially, the 2012 law allowed executions to proceed for those still on death row and convicted under the previous law, but on August 13, 2015, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled that applying the death penalty only for past cases was unconstitutional.

Philippine criminal laws is the body of law and defining the penalties thereof in the Philippines.

Under the German penal code, Strafgesetzbuch, there are two sections relating to homicide:

In the United States, the law for murder varies by jurisdiction. In many US jurisdictions there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first-degree murder and felony murder are the most serious, followed by second-degree murder and, in a few states, third-degree murder, which in other states is divided into voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter such as reckless homicide and negligent homicide, which are the least serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime. However, because there are at least 52 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.

In the state of California, a heavily modified version of the common law felony murder rule is codified in California Penal Code § 189.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal law of the United States</span>

Criminal law is a system of laws that is connected with crimes and punishments of an individual who commits crimes. In comparison, civil law is where the case argues their issues with one entity to another entity with support of the law. Crimes can vary in definition by jurisdiction but the basis for a crime are fairly consistent regardless.

Murder in Ohio constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Ohio.

Murder in Arizona constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Arizona.

Murder in Florida constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Florida.

Murder in Wisconsin constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murder in California law</span>

The law on the crime of murder in the U.S. state of California is defined by sections 187 through 191 of the California Penal Code.

Murder in Delaware constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Delaware.

Murder in Georgia constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Georgia.

Murder in Illinois constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Illinois.

Murder in Indiana constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Indiana.

Murder in Minnesota constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Minnesota.

Murder in New York constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of New York. Because the criminal law of the state also governs the City of New York, there is not a separate law applicable to murders committed in the city.

Murder in Nevada constitutes the unlawful killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Nevada.

References

  1. ↑ "National Center for Health Statistics: Homicide Mortality by State". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 16, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Connecticut Murder Laws". Findlaw. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  3. ↑ "What is felony murder in Connecticut and how is it different from a murder charge?". fox61.com. January 9, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "CHAPTER 952 - PENAL CODE: OFFENSES".
  5. 1 2 "What is Murder with Special Circumstances in Connecticut?". Ruane Attorneys At Law, LLC. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.