In continuing with my series of blogs related to the crime of Homicide I will be discusssing the crime of Second Degree Murder. I will briefly discusss the defenses to second degree murder; however, I will be doing a more extensive discussion of the defenses in a different blog post.
Penal code section 189 states: All Murders which are not first degree murders are second degree murders.
SECOND DEGREE MURDER
Second Degree Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being without the additional elements necessary for first degree murder. Such as deliberation and premediitation or one of the statutory provions for first degree murder such as torture, etc.
THREE TYPES OF SECOND DEGREE MURDER
1. INTENTIONAL KILLING WITH NO PREMEDITATION OR DELIBERATION (EXPRESS MALICE)
2. IMPLIED MALICE NON INTENTIONAL KILLINGS
3. SECOND DEGREE FELONY MURDERS
First intentional killing with no premeditation or deliberation.
Malice is express when there is a deliberate intention to take away a life.
once intent if proven malice is established.
Malice is implied when no significant provocation occurs or when the circumstances attending the killing show an abondoned and malignent heart.
You can think of this as a two part analysis.
1. Did the person do an act inherently dangerous to human life ( the physical act)
2. And the person acted with knowlege of the of its danger and acted with conscious disregard for that danger.
The conduct committed by the person must be sufficiently dangerous to human life.
