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first degree murder

   Also found in: Medical 0.01 sec.

first degree murder n. although it varies from state to state, it is generally a killing which is deliberate and premeditated (planned, after lying in wait, by poison or as part of a scheme), in conjunction with felonies such as rape, burglary, arson, involving multiple deaths, the killing of certain types of people (such as a child, a police officer, a prison guard, a fellow prisoner), or with certain weapons, particularly a gun. The specific criteria for first degree murder are established by statute in each state and by the United States Code in federal prosecutions. It is distinguished from second degree murder in which premeditation is usually absent, and from manslaughter which lacks premeditation and suggests that at most there was intent to harm rather than to kill. (See: murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, felony murder doctrine)



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A California man was recently sentenced to death after being found guilty of first degree murder for setting a wildfire that killed five firefighters.
The jury of six men and six women at the Middlesex County Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts, will have to decide whether Entwistle is guilty of first degree murder if he acted with deliberate premeditation and malice; guilty of second degree murder if he intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm; or not guilty.
The jury of six men and six women will have to decide whether Entwistle is guilty of first degree murder, if he acted with deliberate premeditation and malice; guilty of second degree murder, if he intended to cause death or grievous bodily harm; or not guilty.
 
 
 
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