First Degree Murder Defenses - Assignment Example

As per the US state law, murders are claimed to be 1st degree, if the following criteria are fulfilled. The basic elements of this form of murder are “willfulness, deliberation, and premeditation”. The “1st-degree murder” in some states of the US is considered as applicable for ‘felony murder rule’. This implies that if any accidental death occurs due to the reason of some violent felonies, such as burglary, abuse, kidnapping, and robbery, it is also regarded as 1st-degree murder.

With reference to the provided case, Kim is convicted of the murder, which was accidental in nature. However, the alleged surrendered herself to the police after she identified and realized the death of Michael Thomas (Thomson Routers, 2014).Contextually, defenses are sub-categorized into two forms ― first, the defendant should have submitted justification that he/she had not committed the crime of murder intentionally and second, is he/she should have condemned the crime. To justify their actions regarding the suspect of murder, victims usually use the subsection laws of self-defense and defense to other individuals (Thomson Routers, 2014).

As per the US state of law, ‘1st-degree murder’ is a severe offense, which can result in unforgiving punishment. The degree of punishment may, however, vary in different states due to rudiments of crime and ways of defense. The degree of sentences to condemned murderer also depends upon the state law, decision of the court and strict legal rules who determines the concerned facts about the case. Again, the punishment of the victims of the 1st-degree murder may also vary as per the evidence and justification provided on the basis of sub law of self-defense and defense to others (2Thomson Routers, 2014).

As per the case statement, Kim Johnson was charged with ‘1st degree murder’ for the killing of Michael Thomas. She claimed for self-defense and defense to others as well. She argued with justification that as per the law of self-defense, Michael Thomas would have entered the premises by seeking her permission.