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

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. In the state of

, a person may be convicted of first-degree murder when there is a premeditated intent to cause the death of another person. Murder in the first-degree is a class A felony in the state of Washington. If a person is convicted of first-degree murder, he will not receive anything lower than life imprisonment. The offender can possibly get a charge of aggravated first-degree murder if he commits first-degree murder and have an aggravating circumstance, for example if he kills a public safety official, such as a police officer, firefighter, or paramedic. In this case he can receive the death penalty. However, in October 2018, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that execution could no longer be used as a penalty for any crime. 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 2020, the state had a murder rate well below the median for the entire country.

Felony murder rule

In the state of Washington, the

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

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 s ...

is codified at

Revised Code of Washington The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) is the compilation of all permanent laws currently in force in the U.S. state of Washington. Temporary laws such as appropriations acts are excluded. It is published by the Washington State Statute Law Committ ...

§§ 9A.32.030(c) and 9A.32.050(b).

First degree felony murder

First degree felony murder is defined as a homicide committed by a participant against someone other than another participant, who is committing or attempting to commit (including during immediate flight from the crime) one of the following crimes: (1) robbery in the first or second degree, (2) rape in the first or second degree, (3) burglary in the first degree, (4) arson in the first or second degree, or (5) kidnapping in the first or second degree.

Second degree felony murder

Second degree felony murder committed in the course of a felony not listed under first degree felony murder and in furtherance of such crime and causes the death of a person other than one of the participants.

Penalties

References

Murder in the United States U.S. state criminal law Washington (state) law {{Murder in the United States by jurisdiction

Felony murder rule

First degree felony murder

Second degree felony murder

Penalties

See also

References