Capital murder is a category of murder, chiefly used in parts of the United States, for which the person convicted is eligible for the death penalty. The term originated as a statutory offense of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland before being adopted to define certain aggravated forms of murder in American law. Some death-penalty jurisdictions, such as California, keep no separate statute defining a crime called capital murder; death is instead simply one of the possible sentences available for certain kinds of murder, and the phrase is then used informally by media and the public rather than appearing in the law itself.
Facts
Classification CodeThe term capital murder as a specific statutory offense is used in only seven US states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire and Texas (Georgia uses the related term malicious murder); other states that permit the death penalty use terms such as first-degree murder or aggravated murder for the same purpose. 1 Typical PenaltyCapital murder in the United States is not punished exclusively by death; most states give courts the option of a death sentence or a life sentence, and the US Supreme Court has barred the death penalty for offenders who are mentally incompetent or who were under 18 at the time of the offense. 1 Elements of OffenseAlthough definitions vary, capital murder in the United States usually requires one or more aggravating factors: the victim was a police officer, firefighter or similar public servant killed on duty, a public official, killed during another felony such as robbery or kidnapping, tortured, raped or sexually assaulted, a child, killed by murder-for-hire or terrorism, or killed because of the victim's race or other protected status. 1 Notable ExampleIn the Republic of Ireland, the Supreme Court's 1977 ruling in the case of Noel and Marie Murray held that capital murder was a distinct offense from ordinary murder, substituting a conviction for simple murder after finding the Murrays did not know the off-duty, plainclothes officer they killed was a police officer. 1 Jurisdiction VariationGreat Britain abolished the separate category of capital murder in 1965, so all murder there now carries a mandatory life sentence, while the Republic of Ireland only fully repealed its own capital murder provisions with the Criminal Justice Act 1990, and the United States still allows several states to define distinct capital and non-capital forms of murder. 1 Classification
Offense GradeSerious or Indictable Offense 1 Sources
1. Capital murder (Wikipedia)
WikipediaGreat Britain section
Section 1 of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 abolished the separate category of capital murder, and all murders now carry the mandatory penalty of imprisonment for life.
Republic of Ireland section, Murray case
the Supreme Court in the 1977 case of Noel and Marie Murray, convicted by the Special Criminal Court (SCC) of capital murder after the 1975 shooting of a Garda, who was off duty and not in uniform, giving chase after they had robbed a bank
United States, Punishment subsection
Capital offenses in the United States are not punishable by death exclusively. Most states afford courts the option of imposing either the death penalty or a life sentence upon conviction
lead paragraph
Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty.
United States, Legal meaning subsection, state terminology list
The term "capital murder" is used in only seven U.S. states; however, 27 states and United States federal government currently allow capital punishment, and each has its own terminology for an offense punishable by death.
United States, Legal meaning subsection, aggravating factors list
capital murder in the United States usually means murder involving one or more of the following factors: The victim is a police officer, firefighter, paramedic or similar first responder public servant and was killed while on duty
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