The chosen for the current analysis state is Minnesota. This state has several degrees of murder that may be charged against the defendant and be punished with different severity (Murder charges in Minnesota, n.d.). Murders with malicious intent that do not amount to first-degree murder generally fall under second-degree murder. However, the criteria for determining whether a murder is a capital murder or not may vary depending on the legislation of a particular state. Second-degree murder and manslaughter seem the same crimes at first glance. However, there are specific features of each degree.
Second-degree murder is usually considered the situation when one intentionally kills being affected by emotions, impulse, or other factors. Second-degree murder is charged a maximum of forty years in prison, depending on the details of the crime. Manslaughter is usually divided into two categories. The first is voluntary manslaughter which includes provocation. In other words, the aspect of provocation is decisive in differentiating second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter. The punishment which is often charged is fifteen years in prison. The second type of manslaughter is involuntary, which includes the factor of negligence. Involuntary manslaughter may be caused by the mistake when hunting or a child’s actions leading to someone’s death (Murder charges in Minnesota, n.d.). The punishment usually includes huge fines and ten years of imprisonment.
Man manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a person without malice or prior deliberation. The perpetrator does not at all intend to take the life of another, unlike murder. While it is considered a serious crime, the punishment for it is less severe than that for murder. Voluntary manslaughter occurs when a person voluntarily kills another, although he clearly has no prior plan or intention to kill the victim. In involuntary manslaughter, the perpetrator’s negligence and reckless behavior are the most common causes of such crimes.
Homicide and Law Enforcement
Murder performed while committing another crime is considered murder, regardless of whether it was intentional or not. A person is considered to have committed murder in the third degree if any deaths (even accidental or unintentional) result from the commission or attempted commission of certain violent crimes. However, third-degree murder should not be confused with manslaughter. The main difference is that in third-degree murder, the suspect understood that he was endangering the lives of others or that his behavior was so risky as to be irresponsible. However, the perpetrator did not intend to kill the victim.
Minnesota law originally defined third-degree murder solely as murder from a vicious heart. It is regarded as without the intention of causing the death of any person, causing the death of another, committing an act most dangerous to others, and displaying a depraved mind, with no regard for human life. In 1987, an additional drug-related provision was added to the law (Minnesota Statutes 609.195, 2021). It included the postulate that without intent to cause death, the immediate cause of death of a person as a result, directly or indirectly, of the illegal sale, distribution, exchange, delivery, exchange.
It also addressed the distribution or use of a Schedule I or II controlled substance as an addition to the definition of third-degree murder. Until the early 2000s, prosecutions under this provision were rare, but they began to increase in the 2010s ((FOX 9 Staff, 2021). Some reports attribute this increase in prosecutions to the opioid epidemic in the United States. Minnesota law also defines a crime in the third degree, as the murder of an unborn child, with the same elements of a depraved mind and no intent to kill, as opposed to first or second-degree murder of an unborn child. Both murder in the third degree and murder of an unborn child is punishable by up to twenty-five years in prison.
The proof of the violation of the statute selected includes two significant elements. According to the regulation, the third-degree crime is proved when the offender is “perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life” (Minnesota Statutes 609.195, 2021). In other words, the criminals are charged with a third-degree crime when they act in a depraved mind understanding that they can potentially cause harm for other people. It is also vital to include the aspect of “disregarding the human life” in such an interpretation of statue (Minnesota Statutes 609.195, 2021). This moral consideration is often used when charging the third degree of crime in practice.
For example, the third-degree murder charge against Derek Chauvin is one of the examples of the importance of the cautious reading of the law. Minneapolis resident George Floyd died during a police arrest outside a store. The store owner claimed that the customer presented him with a counterfeit $20 (FOX 9 Staff, 2021). In the video of the detention, Chauvin keeps his knee on the detainee’s neck. Floyd repeatedly asks him to let go and says that he cannot breathe. From the place of detention, an African American was hospitalized unconscious. He died in the hospital a few hours later (FOX 9 Staff, 2021). Although Minnesota approved the knee-to-neck requirement when evidence was found, Chauvin’s use of the technique was widely criticized by experts in professional bodies as being overstated.
Besides the second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder. Despite the judge dismissing this appellation, stating that this was not suitable for this case, the Court of Appeals requested reinstating the third-degree murder charge. In describing why this case can be considered third-degree murder despite the fact that only one person died. The Minnesota Supreme Court stated that a depraved mind involves “a knowingly dangerous act with reckless and wanton unconcern and indifference as to whether anyone is harmed or not” (FOX 9 Staff, 2021, para 11).
The actions of the ex-policeman were described as “a state of mind just as blameworthy, just as anti-social… just as truly murderous as the specific intents to kill” (FOX 9 Staff, 2021, para 11). Therefore, according to Minnesota’s experience, third-degree murder does not necessarily include killing several people. The ethical ideas of malicious and potentially harmful intentions are put at the center of the definition of third-degree murder.
Understanding the elements of the statute is especially important for employees of the internal affairs bodies since the application of the law for them is one of the primary duties, the form in which their activities are embodied. Any case investigation requires a precise understanding of the theoretical description of the statute elements, the practical cases, and the court’s solutions. The practical example discussed above shows that a unique interpretation of the law can occur. In order to investigate the case properly, the enforcement officer needs to learn all the details of similar cases and precedents.
References
FOX 9 Staff. (2021). Minnesota’s 3rd degree murder charge, explained. FOX 9 KMSP. Web.
Murder charges in Minnesota. (n.d.). HG Legal Resources. Web.
Murder in the third degree, Minnesota Statutes No. 609.195. (2021). Web.