Murder, Manslaughter, Vehicular Homicide

Criminal Killing: Murder, Manslaughter, and Vehicular Homicide Crimes.

Minnesota’s criminal laws recognize three types of murder, two types of manslaughter, and several types of vehicular homicide. All involve causing the death of another person. The difference centers on the amount of planning, preparation, desire to kill, and situation.

First-Degree Murder: This is the highest, most severe type of murder. It is penalized with life in prison. There are four kinds of first-degree murder.

1) Premeditated Murder – these are deaths where the defendant consciously chose and intended to kill after having some amount of time to notice and consider their actions.

2) Intentional Felony Murder – these are intentional deaths that are caused while committing certain felonies, including burglary, carjacking, drive-by shooting, first-degree witness tampering, and interference with judges, police, prosecutors, and correctional guards.

3) Murder of Protected Victims – these are deaths caused while committing other crimes, including forceful criminal sexual conduct, patterned child abuse, and patterned domestic abuse.

4) Murder in Furtherance of Terrorism – these are deaths caused while committing a felony crime to further terrorism under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life.

Second-Degree Murder: these murders are the second-highest kind recognized in Minnesota and are penalized by up to 40 years in prison. There are three kinds of second-degree murder.

1) Intentional Murder – these are typically deaths caused in rapidly evolving situations where the defendant has enough time to intend to kill but not enough time to be fairly said to have premeditated.

2) Unintentional Felony Murders – these are deaths caused in the middle of committing other felony crimes.

3) Unintentional Murder of Protected People – these are deaths caused while a defendant is intentionally attempting to hurt a person, but not kill the,, and that person is protected by an Order for Protection, Harassment Restraining Order, or other similar court order.

Third-Degree Murder: This is the least serious type of murder recognized by Minnesota and is punishable by up to 25 years in prison. There are two kinds:

1) Depraved Mind Murder – these are unintentional deaths caused while doing something so “eminently dangerous” that it shows the defendant had a “depraved mind”.

2) Drug Overdose Murders – causing death by unlawfully selling or providing a schedule I or II controlled substance is murder.

First-Degree Manslaughter: all first-degree manslaughter charges are punishable by up to 15 years in prison. There are four kinds:

1) Heat of Passion Killing – these are unintentional deaths in response to extraordinary situations where the “words or acts of another” would “provoke a person of ordinary self-control” to attack.

2) Accidental Assault Killings – these are unintentional deaths caused while trying to commit fifth-degree assault or malicious punishment of a child.

3) Drug Overdose Killings – these are unintentional deaths caused by selling or providing schedule III, IV, or V controlled substances to another.

4) Duress Killings – this covers the narrow circumstances where a person kills someone to prevent imminent death to themselves or another, such as if a third party kidnaps their family member, holds a gun to their head, and orders the defendant to go kill someone.

Second-Degree Manslaughter: these types of killings are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. There are five types:

1) Negligent Killing –unintentional deaths caused while consciously aware of an unreasonable chance of causing death or great bodily harm to another, such as dropping a large rock off an overpass during rush hour.

2) Negligent Hunting –unintentional deaths caused by shooting while negligently thinking a person is an animal.

3) Death Traps –unintentional deaths caused by setting up a spring gun, pit fall, snare, or other dangerous weapon or device.

4) Dangerous Animal Killing – this happens if an animal is known to have vicious tendencies is allowed to run uncontrolled off the owner’s property and it kills someone.

5) Child Neglect –unintentional deaths caused while unlawfully neglecting a child.

Vehicular Homicide: this category of killings involves deaths caused while driving a motor vehicle whenever the death is not otherwise covered by the murder and manslaughter laws. There are several types:

1) Grossly Negligent Driving – causing a death while operating a motor vehicle in any manner considered grossly negligent.

2) Intoxicated Negligence – causing death while driving negligently and under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, a controlled substance, or any other substance known to be intoxicating.

3) Drunk Driving – causing death while having a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

4) Zero-Tolerance Narcotics – causing death while driving negligently with any amount of a Schedule I or II narcotic or metabolite in the body.

5) Fleeing the Scene – causing death and fleeing the scene after.

6) Known Defective — causing death while driving a car after being previously cited or warned about a known, dangerous maintenance defect.

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If you or someone you know is being investigated for or has been accused of causing the death of another person in any circumstances in Minnesota, don’t wait to get the legal help you need. Contact McKinney Defense today by calling (612) 300-1208 or filling out our online form to schedule a FREE consultation. Let me fight for your rights and help you take the first step toward fair representation.

This blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in Minnesota or your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country, or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.