A premeditated murder made with specific intent and an evil motive
Under our criminal justice system, the most severe punishment is reserved for the most meticulously planned type of killing and possesses the requisite evil motive to kill.
This type of killing is called First Degree Murder and requires the killer to possess a particular intent to harm and kill. The nature of this level of specific intent is called possessing malice aforethought, a state of mind that demonstrates the killer possessed a depraved heart. In many states, the penalty is death.
An example of this type of murder is killing a spouse with planning and premeditation and which was financially motivated.
First Degree Murder is either life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. The specific elements of first-degree murder and its punishments are established by statute in each state.
