Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent (or malice aforethought), and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). As the loss of a human being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close to the victim, as well as the fact that the commission of a murder permanently deprives the victim of their existence, most societies both present and in antiquity have considered it a most serious crime worthy of the harshest of punishment. Typically a convicted murder suspect is given a life sentence or even the death penalty for such an act. The word murder is related, in old English, to the French word mordre (bite) in reference to the heavy compensation one must pay for causing an unjust death.[1] A person who commits murder is called a murderer ;[2] the term murderess, meaning a woman who murders, has largely fallen into disuse.[3]
Second degree murder with aggravating circumstance
Between 20 years and life (parole eligibility : one-third ; 15 years if life sentence is imposed)
First degree murder
30–60 years (parole eligibility : 30 years)
First degree murder with aggravating circumstance
Between 30 years and life without parole (parole eligibility : 30 years if life without parole is not imposed)
Murder of a law enforcement officer
Life without parole
References
^"Mordre wol out; that se we day by day." - Geoffrey Chaucer (1340–1400), The Canterbury Tales, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, l. 4242 (1387-1400), repr. In The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Alfred W. Pollard, et al. (1898).
