North Carolina First Degree Murder Laws

Code Section

North Carolina General Statutes section 14-17: Murder in the first and second degree defined; punishment

Definition of the Crime

First degree murder is causing the death of another person in one of the following manners:

• By means of a weapon of mass destruction;
• By poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing;
• In the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any arson, rape or a sex offense, robbery, kidnapping, burglary, or other felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon.

Classifications/ Penalties

First degree murder is a Class A felony. The sentence a defendant receives depends on the facts of the case, but first degree murder is punishable by the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Defenses

Individuals facing murder prosecution should consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney for advice and to develop the best legal strategy based on the unique facts of the case. Part of the legal strategy may include asserting one of several defenses to first degree murder:

• Insanity;
• Mistaken identity;
• Self-defense;
• Killing committed in heat of passion (in which the crime would be charged as voluntary manslaughter); and
• Actual innocence

Death Penalty Possible?

Yes. Under certain circumstances, individuals convicted of first degree may be sentenced to death by lethal injection.