Capital murder is any murder that makes the perpetrator eligible for the death penalty. The difference in capital murder and manslaughter is that capital murder is the intent to kill a person, while manslaughter is unlawful killing that doesn’t intend to seriously harm or kill. When convicted of capital murder, the punishment is legally authorized death penalty or life in prison without parole. In Mississippi, someone convicted of capital murder can be sentenced to death but if the U.S. Supreme Court, or circuit court, says it is unconstitutional than those sentenced shall be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
In most states, first degree murder is defined as an unlawful killing that is willful and premeditated, meaning that is was committed after planning or prepared to kill the victim. First degree murder is committed if any death (even accidental) results from the …show more content…
Second degree murder does not include the intent to kill. It is a non-premeditated killing resulting from an assault in which death of the victim was a distinct possibility. It is viewed as the middle ground between first degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, which is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during “the heat of passion”, under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed. The punishment for second degree murder is not typically the death penalty but subjects can be looking at a long term sentence or even life in