First Degree Murder Defense

Under § 13-1105(A), a person commits first degree murder in one of three ways, and the charging document names the one the State relies on. You can compare all Arizona homicide charges on our main page.

• Premeditated murder, § 13-1105(A)(1): intending or knowing that your conduct will cause death, you cause the death of another person "with premeditation."
• Felony murder, § 13-1105(A)(2): a death caused in the course of certain listed felonies, or the immediate flight from them. Our felony murder page covers this form in detail.
• Killing an officer, § 13-1105(A)(3): intending or knowing that your conduct will cause the death of a law enforcement officer, you cause the death of an officer "who is in the line of duty."

Premeditation has a specific legal meaning. Under A.R.S. § 13-1101(1), it means the intent or knowledge to kill came before the killing "by any length of time to permit reflection." The State does not have to prove actual reflection. But the same definition says an act is not premeditated "if it is the instant effect of a sudden quarrel or heat of passion."

The line between first degree murder, second degree murder and manslaughter often turns on what was in a person's mind, and when.

Section 13-751(A) states that a person sentenced to natural life "is not eligible for commutation, parole, work furlough, work release or release from confinement on any basis."

For an adult convicted of premeditated or officer murder, § 13-752(A) leaves no middle option when death is not sought or not imposed: "the court shall impose a sentence of natural life." The court may choose the shorter "life" sentence only in a felony murder case or when the defendant was under eighteen at the time. A person serving life "shall not be released on any basis" until serving 25 calendar years, or 35 years if the person killed was under fifteen or was an unborn child (§ 13-751(A)). That is a minimum before any release, not a promise of release.

When the State seeks death

If the State files a notice of intent to seek the death penalty, sentencing happens in separate phases after any guilty verdict. Before trial, the prosecution must give notice of one or more aggravating circumstances listed in § 13-751(F) (§ 13-752(B)). Examples include a prior conviction for a serious offense and an offense committed "in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner."

• The prosecution must prove each aggravating circumstance "beyond a reasonable doubt" (§ 13-751(B)).
• The defense must prove a mitigating circumstance "by a preponderance of the evidence," and jurors do not have to agree unanimously on mitigation (§ 13-751(C)).
• Under § 13-751(E), the trier of fact "shall impose a sentence of death" if it finds at least one listed aggravating circumstance and then finds no mitigating circumstances "sufficiently substantial to call for leniency."
• The decision on death must be unanimous (§ 13-752(H)).

A defense starts with the elements. The State must prove each one beyond a reasonable doubt, and in a premeditated murder case the mental state is often the center of the dispute.

• Premeditation: We study the timeline, the statements and the events just before the death. Evidence of a sudden quarrel or heat of passion can show the act was not premeditated under § 13-1101(1), which may point to a lesser offense.
• Identity and forensic evidence: Witness identifications, location data, video and DNA can be tested by independent experts.
• Justification: Arizona law allows deadly physical force in self-defense in limited situations (A.R.S. § 13-405). Once the defense presents evidence of justification, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not act with justification (A.R.S. § 13-205(A)).
• Statements and searches: Interviews, warrants and phone searches are reviewed for constitutional problems.
• Mitigation: Life history, mental health, trauma and family background are investigated early, because in a capital case they can matter at every stage.

You will see a judge within 24 hours of arrest under Rule 4.1, and on a felony you have the right to a lawyer, including an appointed one if you cannot afford one.