Can someone tell me the difference between Capital Murder and 1st Degree Murder?

I know that one differnce between capital murder and first degree murder. One factor is if you kill a police man, that is automatically capital murder. I think another thing is if it's a premeditated murder....

Thank you, I was just wondering. I looked up some information about someone I was thinking about writing. He was so young when he went in.....and his life is already over..so sad.

You know, its funny you asked because I had to do a paper in English on death row, and I had a lot on capital murder. Because not all, but most murders that are capital murders end in death row. But to be able to charge someone on capital murder I guess is very hard, and its not as common as murder or 2nd degree murder

I found this definition online for you, i cant speak for its accuracy though


Capital murder
Capital murder is murder which is punishable by death. In 38 states and the federal government itself, there are laws allowing capital punishment for this crime. Depending on the state, a murder may qualify as "capital murder" if (a) the person murdered was of a special class, such as a police officer; (b) "special circumstances" occurred in the crime, such as multiple murder, the use of poison, or "lying in wait" in order to murder the victim. Capital murder is quite rare in the United States compared to other murder convictions

First-degree murder (or murder in the first degree, or colloquially, murder one) refers to
a murder that is premeditated (or planned beforehand), or murder which occurs after some degree of reflection by the murderer. This reflection can be years or less than a second. First degree murder is done with malice (i.e., with intent to kill).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder

Capital murder is simply murder that is punishable by death. Hence, although Capital murder is first degree murder, first degree murder is not always Capital murder. It really just depends on what state, or country, the murder is committed in and if that particular state has Capital punishment or not.

Therefore, SergiGal is not necessarily correct when she writes... “if you kill a police man, that is automatically capital murder.”

In some states if you kill a peace officer or a child you are automatically charged with capital murder

__________________

William Jennings Bryan

This is for the STATE OF TEXAS.

_____________________________________



PENAL CODE

TITLE 5. OFFENSES AGAINST THE PERSON

CHAPTER 19. CRIMINAL HOMICIDE


§ 19.01. TYPES OF CRIMINAL HOMICIDE. (a) A person
commits criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly,
recklessly, or with criminal negligence causes the death of an
individual.
(b) Criminal homicide is murder, capital murder,
manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, § 1,
eff. Jan. 1, 1974; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff.
Sept. 1, 1994.


§ 19.02. MURDER. (a) In this section:
(1) "Adequate cause" means cause that would commonly
produce a degree of anger, rage, resentment, or terror in a person
of ordinary temper, sufficient to render the mind incapable of cool
reflection.
(2) "Sudden passion" means passion directly caused by
and arising out of provocation by the individual killed or another
acting with the person killed which passion arises at the time of
the offense and is not solely the result of former provocation.
(b) A person commits an offense if he:
(1) intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an
individual;
(2) intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits
an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an
individual; or
(3) commits or attempts to commit a felony, other than
manslaughter, and in the course of and in furtherance of the
commission or attempt, or in immediate flight from the commission
or attempt, he commits or attempts to commit an act clearly
dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an offense under
this section is a felony of the first degree.
(d) At the punishment stage of a trial, the defendant may
raise the issue as to whether he caused the death under the
immediate influence of sudden passion arising from an adequate
cause. If the defendant proves the issue in the affirmative by a
preponderance of the evidence, the offense is a felony of the second
degree.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Amended by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, § 1,
eff. Jan. 1, 1974; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff.
Sept. 1, 1994.


§ 19.03. CAPITAL MURDER. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person commits murder as defined under Section
19.02(b)(1) and:
(1) the person murders a peace officer or fireman who
is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty and who the
person knows is a peace officer or fireman;
(2) the person intentionally commits the murder in the
course of committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, burglary,
robbery, aggravated sexual assault, arson, obstruction or
retaliation, or terroristic threat under Section 22.07(a)(1), (3),
(4), (5), or (6);
(3) the person commits the murder for remuneration or
the promise of remuneration or employs another to commit the murder
for remuneration or the promise of remuneration;
(4) the person commits the murder while escaping or
attempting to escape from a penal institution;
(5) the person, while incarcerated in a penal
institution, murders another:
(A) who is employed in the operation of the penal
institution; or
(B) with the intent to establish, maintain, or
participate in a combination or in the profits of a combination;
(6) the person:
(A) while incarcerated for an offense under this
section or Section 19.02, murders another; or
(B) while serving a sentence of life imprisonment
or a term of 99 years for an offense under Section 20.04, 22.021, or
29.03, murders another;
(7) the person murders more than one person:
(A) during the same criminal transaction; or
(B) during different criminal transactions but
the murders are committed pursuant to the same scheme or course of
conduct; or
(8) the person murders an individual under six years
of age.
(b) An offense under this section is a capital felony.
(c) If the jury or, when authorized by law, the judge does
not find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of
an offense under this section, he may be convicted of murder or of
any other lesser included offense.

Added by Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, § 1, eff.
Jan. 1, 1974. Amended by Acts 1983, 68th Leg., p. 5317, ch. 977,
§ 6, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 44, § 1,
eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 652, § 13, eff.
Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 715, § 1, eff. Sept. 1,
1993; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 887, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993;
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 388, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.


§ 19.04. MANSLAUGHTER. (a) A person commits an
offense if he recklessly causes the death of an individual.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second
degree.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 19.04 by Acts 1973, 63rd
Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974. Amended
by Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 307, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 19.05 and amended by Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.


§ 19.05. CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE. (a) A person
commits an offense if he causes the death of an individual by
criminal negligence.
(b) An offense under this section is a state jail felony.

Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 19.06 by Acts 1973, 63rd
Leg., p. 1123, ch. 426, art. 2, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.
Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Penal Code § 19.07 and amended by Acts
1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, § 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994.


§ 19.06. APPLICABILITY TO CERTAIN CONDUCT. This
chapter does not apply to the death of an unborn child if the
conduct charged is:
(1) conduct committed by the mother of the unborn
child;
(2) a lawful medical procedure performed by a
physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite
consent, if the death of the unborn child was the intended result of
the procedure;
(3) a lawful medical procedure performed by a
physician or other licensed health care provider with the requisite
consent as part of an assisted reproduction as defined by Section
160.102, Family Code; or
(4) the dispensation of a drug in accordance with law
or administration of a drug prescribed in accordance with law.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 822, § 2.02, eff. Sept. 1,
2003.

__________________

William Jennings Bryan

Thank you Skye, I have been researching one person for a while now. I want to be prepared if I write him, able to understand what he is going through. The Forum has been a great help in helping me with this.
All of you :-),
Lunch is almost over....back to work :-(..
Have a great day!
Bella :-)

Thank you Skye, I have been researching one person for a while now. I want to be prepared if I write him, able to understand what he is going through. The Forum has been a great help in helping me with this.
All of you :-),
Lunch is almost over....back to work :-(..
Have a great day!
Bella :-)