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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:
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
First Degree Murder is generally considered to be premeditated killing.
- The law itself is more complicated. Under NCGS § 14-17(a), First Degree Murder is defined as a murder which involved some planning (even if very brief), and it must have either been done deliberately, or during the commission or attempted commission of another felony with the use of a deadly weapon.
- The complete text of the First Degree Murder statute reads as follows:
(a) A murder which shall be perpetrated by means of a nuclear, biological, or chemical weapon of mass destruction as defined in G.S. 14-288.21, poison, lying in wait, imprisonment, starving, torture, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing, or which shall be committed 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 shall be deemed to be murder in the first degree, a Class A felony, and any person who commits such murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment in the State’s prison for life without parole as the court shall determine pursuant to G.S. 15A-2000, except that any such person who was under 18 years of age at the time of the murder shall be punished in accordance with Part 2A of Article 81B of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes.
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
Second Degree murder does not require proof of premeditation, but instead requires proof of reckless disregard for human life in one’s actions, where those actions lead to the killing of another person.
- The complete text of the Second Degree Murder charge reads as follows, under NCGS § 14-17(b):
(b) A murder other than described in subsection (a) or (a1) of this section or in G.S. 14-23.2 shall be deemed second degree murder. Any person who commits second degree murder shall be punished as a Class B1 felon, except that a person who commits second degree murder shall be punished as a Class B2 felon in either of the following circumstances:
(1) The malice necessary to prove second degree murder is based on an inherently dangerous act or omission, done in such a reckless and wanton manner as to manifest a mind utterly without regard for human life and social duty and deliberately bent on mischief.
(2) The murder is one that was proximately caused by the unlawful distribution of any opium, opiate, or opioid; any synthetic or natural salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium, or opiate, or opioid; cocaine or other substance described in G.S. 90-90(1)d.; methamphetamine; or a depressant described in G.S. 90-92(a)(1), and the ingestion of such substance caused the death of the user.
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.
Lesser-Included Offenses to Murder
If you are facing a trial for Murder, it becomes an important question to determine under what circumstances a jury may be instructed to consider “lesser-included offenses.” Under North Carolina law, Second Degree Murder, Voluntary Manslaughter, and Involuntary Manslaughter are all lesser-included offenses to First Degree Murder — which means that the elements that the state must prove in the lesser offenses are subsets of the elements of First Degree Murder.
In some cases, Second Degree Murder and Voluntary and/or Involuntary Manslaughter may be provided as lesser-included offenses for a jury’s consideration in First Degree Murder trial, but the presiding judge must find that there is evidence to support the lesser-included offense in order to present the jury with the option to convict the defendant on a lesser charge. If the lesser-included offenses are not presented to the jury in a First Degree Murder trial, that means that the jury will only return a verdict of guilty or not guilty of First Degree Murder. In other words, it’s all or nothing.
From the North Carolina Supreme Court: An instruction on a lesser-included offense must be given only if the evidence would permit the jury rationally to find defendant guilty of the lesser offense and to acquit him of the greater. State v. Millsaps, 356 N.C. 556 (2002). The North Carolina Court of Appeals has held that in a case involving an unlawful killing with a firearm, an instruction for the lesser included offense of involuntary manslaughter would require evidence of “‘the absence of intent to discharge the weapon.’” State v. Coleman, 254 N.C. App. 497 (2017) (quoting State v. Robbins, 309 N.C. 771, 779 (1983). This is critically important in a gun-related Murder trial — the lesser-included offense of Involuntary Manslaughter will only be provided where the actual discharge of the weapon was itself unintentional. Voluntary Manslaughter, on the other hand, may be provided to the jury as a lesser-included offense where the discharge of the firearm itself was intentional, but there is evidence on which the jury could rely to find the defendant guilty of Voluntary Manslaughter but not guilty of First or Second Degree Murder.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
A murder attorney in North Carolina defends individuals charged with homicide-related offenses by investigating the facts, challenging evidence, filing motions, negotiating with prosecutors, and representing clients at trial. An experienced murder defense lawyer also protects the accused’s constitutional rights at every stage of the case.
Murder charges in North Carolina are filed when prosecutors believe a killing was unlawful and intentional or occurred under circumstances defined by statute. Charges typically begin with an arrest, followed by formal charges, court hearings, and potentially a jury trial in Superior Court.
First-degree murder involves premeditation, deliberation, or specific aggravating circumstances such as felony murder. Second-degree murder generally involves intentional killing without premeditation or killings resulting from extremely reckless conduct.
Felony murder in North Carolina occurs when a death happens during the commission or attempted commission of certain serious felonies, such as robbery or burglary, even if there was no intent to kill. Felony murder is charged as first-degree murder.
Murder involves malice or intent, while manslaughter typically involves unintentional killing or killings that occur in the heat of passion or due to criminal negligence. Manslaughter carries significantly lighter penalties than murder.
A murder defense may involve challenging the prosecution’s evidence, questioning witness credibility, disputing intent, asserting self-defense, or seeking dismissal due to constitutional violations. Each defense strategy depends on the specific facts of the case.
North Carolina law defines murder as the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought. The degree of murder depends on intent, circumstances, and statutory factors.
Penalties for murder in North Carolina are severe. First-degree murder may result in life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty, while second-degree murder can carry decades in prison depending on the circumstances.
The cost of hiring a murder attorney in North Carolina varies based on the complexity of the case, length of trial, and investigative needs. Most murder defense cases require a substantial investment due to the seriousness of the charges.
A murder trial in North Carolina typically includes jury selection, presentation of evidence, witness testimony, cross-examination, and closing arguments. Trials can last weeks or months depending on the complexity of the case.
Choosing the right murder attorney involves reviewing experience with homicide cases, trial history, legal strategy, and the attorney’s ability to communicate clearly and effectively with clients and juries.
North Carolina allows self-defense claims when force is reasonably necessary to prevent death or serious bodily harm. A successful self-defense argument can lead to reduced charges or dismissal of a murder case.
Anyone charged with murder in North Carolina should remain silent, avoid discussing the case with anyone other than their attorney, and seek immediate legal representation from an experienced criminal defense lawyer.
Murder sentencing in North Carolina depends on the degree of murder, presence of aggravating factors, and statutory mandates. Judges have limited discretion in first-degree murder cases due to mandatory sentencing laws.
Private investigators can locate witnesses, uncover exculpatory evidence, challenge law enforcement findings, and help reconstruct events, strengthening the overall murder defense strategy.
