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Being charged with a felony and facing the possibility of a long prison sentence can be daunting for anyone. However, homicide crimes in North Carolina often have the longest prison sentences of all. And if you are convicted of first-degree murder, you have two sentencing options — life in prison with no chance of parole or death by lethal injection.

If you have been charged with murder or another crime involving unlawful killing, it’s never been more important to have competent legal representation — your life and freedom depend on it. At Hiltzheimer Law Office, we’re dedicated to our clients, and we will stand by you even when no one else will. Contact us to talk to a murder lawyer in North Carolina today.

What Is Murder NCGS § 14-17 in North Carolina?

All murder charges involve an unlawful killing, but not all cases involving an unlawful killing are charged as murder. Under North Carolina murder laws, you can be convicted of murder if the prosecution can prove the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

You either intended to kill another person or disregarded the risk of killing someone
The physical action used to commit the murder was unlawful
The intent and the physical action happened at the same time
Your actions directly caused the other person’s death

While these general criteria define the crime of murder, there are specific criteria that distinguish first-degree murder from second-degree murder. Here’s a closer look at the different murder charges you might face:

crime scene tape in building with blurred forensic team background

Murder Charges That You Could Be Charged With Committing

There are three types of murders charges in North Carolina: first-degree murder, felony murder, and second-degree murder.

First-Degree Murder

The critical factor distinguishing first-degree murder from lesser crimes is “malice aforethought.” In other words, you may be charged with first-degree murder if you are alleged to have planned the killing in advance. State law defines first-degree murder as an intentional killing that is “willful, deliberate, and premeditated.” It also identifies these other specific examples as a means of perpetration, in addition to any other deliberate or premeditated killing:

Use of a weapon of mass destruction
Poison
Lying in wait
Imprisonment
Starving
Torture

These aren’t the only ways first-degree murder can be perpetrated. If you plan to kill someone and follow through with that plan, you can be charged with first-degree murder.

Felony Murder

In North Carolina, felony murder is a type of first-degree murder. If you are accused of killing someone in the course of committing any of these felonies, you can be charged with felony murder:

Arson
Rape
Other sex offenses
Robbery
Kidnapping
Burglary
Other felonies committed while you possessed a deadly weapon

Notably, if you were part of the felony being committed, you can be charged with felony murder even if you were not the person who killed the victim.

For example, suppose that you and a group of friends break into a home intending to steal valuables, and you serve as the lookout. Your friends are surprised to find another person in the home, and they kill them. Even though you weren’t the person who caused the serious bodily injury and eventual death, you could still be charged with felony murder because you were part of the original crime.

Second-Degree Murder

While it is still an extremely serious felony, a charge of second-degree murder is not as severe as a first-degree murder charge. If you are accused of taking someone’s life but it is not a premeditated killing, you can be charged with second-degree murder. You also can be charged if you are alleged to kill someone in “reckless disregard” for human life.

Acting with malice is a key part of a first-degree or second-degree murder charge. Under North Carolina law, the court can infer malicious intent if you are proven to have engaged in an inherently dangerous activity and doing so with complete disregard for human life.

Some states — Florida, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania — classify killing someone by acting extremely recklessly as third-degree murder. However, in North Carolina, there is no legal concept of third-degree murder.

Manslaughter Charges in North Carolina

Manslaughter is another crime involving the death of another person, but the key difference between murder and manslaughter is that murder is committed with malice and manslaughter is not. There are three kinds of manslaughter charges in North Carolina: voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and vehicular manslaughter.

Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter involves killing with intent, but that intent arises because the person is in a situation that would cause any reasonable person to be emotionally or mentally disturbed.

Some examples may be helpful to illustrate voluntary manslaughter. A common example is killing committed “in the heat of passion.” If you are provoked, fly into a rage, and kill someone as a result, you might be charged with voluntary manslaughter.

Another example is a case of imperfect self-defense. With imperfect self-defense, a person honestly believes that deadly force is necessary to defend themselves — but from an objective standpoint, the force used was excessive.

Involuntary Manslaughter

You may face involuntary manslaughter charges if you were criminally negligent but not acting with the same wanton disregard for life as someone charged with second-degree murder.

Essentially, the reckless behavior shown in second-degree murder is so serious that you can reasonably infer malicious intent on the part of the perpetrator. Someone who commits involuntary manslaughter may have been engaging in reckless conduct, but the conduct was not reckless enough to warrant a second-degree murder charge.

For example, if you are accused of letting your dogs freely roam your neighborhood and they attack and kill a child, you could be charged with involuntary manslaughter as a result.

Vehicular Manslaughter

If you are accused of killing someone because you acted negligently or recklessly while driving, you might be charged with vehicular manslaughter. These charges are also known as misdemeanor and felony death by motor vehicle in North Carolina. These are some common situations that lead to vehicular manslaughter charges:

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Speeding
Reckless driving
Texting while driving
Driving while fatigued
Running red lights or stop signs

Vehicular manslaughter, or death by vehicle, charges can be misdemeanors or felonies. Your charges will depend on the degree to which you are found to have been criminally negligent, your criminal history, and other factors.

Key Elements of Murder Charges

Carolina law. In order to secure a conviction for murder, prosecutors must prove every element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt. These are some of the most important elements of North Carolina murder charges that the district attorney would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt:

The accused person acted with malicious intent
Their actions directly caused the death of the victim
There was no legal justification or excuse for the accused person’s actions

Your legal team can closely examine the elements of your case, get a detailed account from our client, and identify legal issues that may serve as the basis of a defense at trial. The more doubt attorneys for murder in North Carolina can create, the greater your chances of an acquittal.

Defense Strategies for Murder Charges

Murder defense lawyers always have an uphill battle ahead of them due to the serious nature of the charge. However, after conducting a detailed review of your case, including directing an independent defense investigation and recruiting experts where appropriate, an attorney might determine that one of these defense strategies applies:

Arguing you acted in self-defense
Mistaken identity / wrong person was charged
Alibi defense / you were not or could not have been at the crime scene when it occurred
Arguing that the evidence only supports a lesser offense
Claiming you suffered from temporary insanity when committing the crime
Reasonable doubt / arguing that the prosecution simply lacks sufficient evidence to prove the crime beyond a reasonable doubt

Competent defense lawyers understand that every murder case is different. Your attorney might rely on one of these strategies, a combination of them, or another defense altogether. Our murder defense attorneys have experience directing a defense team including private investigators and forensic experts to ensure that you receive a thorough and comprehensive defense.

Penalties for Murder and Manslaughter in North Carolina

Because there are so many degrees of homicide crimes, the penalties for murder and manslaughter can vary considerably. Here is a breakdown of the manslaughter and murder sentences in North Carolina:

First-Degree Murder and Felony Murder

If you’re convicted of first-degree murder charges, sentences are limited to two options. You can be sentenced to either life imprisonment with no chance of parole, or death. A first-degree charge is a Class A felony — the most serious classification of crime under North Carolina law.

Second-Degree Murder

Second-degree murder sentencing depends on whether you are convicted of a B1 or B2 felony. More serious cases of second-degree murder result in a B1 felony conviction, and less serious cases result in a B2 felony conviction.

For a B1 felony conviction, you could be sentenced to 144 months in prison to life with no parole. For a B2 felony conviction, you can be sentenced to 94 to 471 months in prison. The exact sentence you receive will depend on aggravating circumstances, mitigating circumstances, your criminal history, and other variables.

Voluntary Manslaughter

Because voluntary manslaughter involves intentionally killing someone, sentences are more serious than those for involuntary and vehicular manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is a Class D felony in North Carolina. The minimum sentence for a Class D felony is 38 months in prison, and the maximum sentence is 204 months.

Involuntary Manslaughter and Vehicular Manslaughter

Because involuntary manslaughter and vehicular manslaughter both involve unintentional killing by criminal negligence, both are Class F felonies. Under North Carolina law, Class F felonies are probation eligible with no prior record but may result in anywhere from 10 to 62 months in prison. Just like other murder and manslaughter cases, a judge will weigh mitigating and aggravating circumstances when determining your sentence.

How an Experienced Murder Defense Lawyer Can Help

As you can see, the murder laws North Carolina imposes result in strict penalties. It’s easy to feel hopeless when you’re facing a murder charge, so it is critically important to have an experienced criminal defense attorney at your side. Our attorneys can thoroughly evaluate the circumstances surrounding your case. We may be able to identify mitigating factors to negotiate for a lesser charge, or we can fight your case at trial if we’re not able to reach a negotiated outcome that you are satisfied with.

The most important thing you can do for yourself if you’ve been arrested and charged with murder is to contact an experienced attorney. Our office has defended clients against North Carolina’s most serious charges. If you need to speak to a North Carolina murder defense lawyer, contact Hiltzheimer Law Office today.

FAQ

Murder and manslaughter are both homicide crimes involving unlawful killing. However, charges of manslaughter are lesser because the crime was not committed with malicious intent.

In most cases the prosecution must prove that a killing was premeditated in order for you to be convicted of first-degree murder. However, under the felony murder rule, you can be charged with first-degree murder even without premeditation.

You can be charged with felony murder if you are accused of killing someone during the commission or attempted commission of an inherently dangerous felony like rape, robbery, or arson. You can also be charged if one of your accomplices causes the death.

Yes. If you are convicted of first-degree murder charges at North Carolina, there are only two sentencing options: life imprisonment with no chance of parole or death by lethal injection.

If you are convicted of 1st-degree murder, you can be sentenced to either life in prison with no parole or death. Depending on the level of your 2nd-degree murder conviction, you may face a prison sentence with a minimum of 94 months, and up to life in prison.