Murder in Minnesota law constitutes the killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The United States

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

reported that in the year 2021, the state had a murder rate somewhat below the median for the entire country.

Definitions

First-degree murder

Minnesota law specifies five levels of homicide in total, with first-degree murder being the most serious form of homicide. First-degree murder constitutes the killing of an individual under one of the following circumstances. * The murder was premeditated * The murder was committed while the perpetrator was committing or attempting to commit

criminal sexual conduct Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violenc ...

in the first or second degree with force or violence * The murder was committed while the perpetrator was committing or attempting to commit

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

, aggravated

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

in the first or second degree, a

drive-by shooting A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...

, tampering with a witness in the first degree, escape from custody, or the unlawful sale of a controlled substance * The murder was of a peace officer, prosecuting attorney, judge, or a guard employed at a Minnesota state or local correctional facility, with intent to effect the death of that person or another, while the person is engaged in the performance of official duties * The murder was of a minor while the perpetrator was committing

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

, when the perpetrator has engaged in a past pattern of child abuse upon a child and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life * The murder was committed while the perpetrator was committing

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner v ...

, when the perpetrator has engaged in a past pattern of domestic abuse upon the victim or upon another family or household member and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life * The murder was committed while the perpetrator was committing, conspiring to commit, or attempting to commit a felony crime to further terrorism and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life * The murder was committed during a kidnapping * The perpetrator had been previously convicted of another "heinous crime" The factors in bold are factors that warrant a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Without one of the circumstances in bold, the standard sentence for first-degree murder is life-with-parole after 30 years. The only exception for life-without-parole sentences are for first-degree murders where the perpetrator was under the age of 18, as Minnesota abolished juvenile life-without-parole sentences in May 2023.

Second-degree murder

Second-degree murder in Minnesota is split into two types: intentional and unintentional. Intentional second-degree murder constitutes the intentional murder of a person without premeditation. Unintentional second-degree murder is defined as a murder in which the prosecution is not required to prove intent, but only that the defendant committed a felony causing another person's death. Unintentional second-degree murder is Minnesota's

felony murder rule The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder: when someone is killed (regardless of intent to kill) in the commission of a dangerous or enumerated crime (called a felony in so ...

; unlike most other states that have the felony murder rule, Minnesota punishes felony murder as second-degree murder rather than first-degree. Minnesota's rule is unique in the sense that it does not require an independent felony from the elements of murder, so a felony such as assault causing someone's death can result in a defendant being charged with second-degree murder. The maximum sentence for second-degree murder is 40 years in prison, and the recommended sentencing guidelines suggest years for a first-time offender. There is no mandatory minimum, so hypothetically someone could serve no prison time for second-degree murder.

Derek Chauvin Derek Michael Chauvin ( ; born March 19, 1976) is an American former police officer who was convicted for the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin was a member of the Minneapolis Police ...

, a white police officer who murdered George Floyd, an unarmed black man, was convicted of second-degree murder under the state's felony murder rule in a highly publicized trial in 2021, with the underlying felony being

assault An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

. Chauvin received a sentence of years in prison.

Third-degree murder

Third-degree murder in Minnesota is defined as when a perpetrator engages in an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, or engaging in a drug deal resulting in someone's death. The recommended sentencing guidelines for third-degree murder is 10 to 15 years in prison for a first-time offender, and the maximum is 25 years in prison. There is no minimum, so a defendant could hypothetically serve no prison time.

Penalties

The sentences for homicide offenses in Minnesota are listed below.

Notes

References

{{Murder in the United States by jurisdiction U.S. state criminal law Minnesota law Murder in Minnesota