What does MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE mean?

• Murder in the First Degree is when a person plans and then kills another person with the intent to kill that person.

• Murder in the First Degree can also be charged when a person lies and commits perjury which causes the conviction and execution of another innocent person.

• Murder in the First Degree can also be charged for those who act with universal malice and extreme indifference towards the value of human life which causes the death of another person, or when a person knowingly distributes a controlled substance (drugs) to a child under 18 years of age on school grounds and that child dies from the use of he controlled substance.

• Murder in the First Degree may also be charged when a person causes the death of a child under the age of 12, and the person who causes the death is a person in a position of trust (parent, guardian, babysitter, etc.)

• Murder in the First Degree is a Class 1 Felony, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

C.R.S. 18-3-102 - MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE

(1) A person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if:

(a) After deliberation and with the intent to cause the death of a person other than himself, he causes the death of that person or of another person; or

(c) By perjury or subornation of perjury he procures the conviction and execution of any innocent person; or

(d) Under circumstances evidencing an attitude of universal malice manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life generally, he knowingly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to a person, or persons, other than himself, and thereby causes the death of another; or

(e) He or she commits unlawful distribution, dispensation, or sale of a controlled substance to a person under the age of eighteen years on school grounds as provided in section 18-18-407 (2), or 18-18-407 (1)(g)(I) for offenses committed on or after October 1, 2013, and the death of such person is caused by the use of such controlled substance; or

(f) The person knowingly causes the death of a child who has not yet attained twelve years of age and the person committing the offense is one in a position of trust with respect to the victim.

(3) Murder in the first degree is a class 1 felony.

(4) The statutory privilege between patient and physician and between husband and wife shall not be available for excluding or refusing testimony in any prosecution for the crime of murder in the first degree as described in paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of this section.