Representation In First-Degree Murder Cases
First–degree murder is a gravely serious criminal charge that carries very significant consequences. An experienced attorney can help you fight these charges.
At Pearson & Paris, P.C., we have more than 50 years of combined legal experience that we will use in your defense. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior prosecutor who knows how district attorneys handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiation to courtroom battles.
Call us at 303-872-4719 in the Greater Denver area or toll free at 303-872-4719 across Colorado for an initial consultation at reduced Rates.
Whether in the Denver area or anywhere in Colorado, first-degree murder must commonly occur in one of three manners: (1) intentional murder in which a person, after deliberation and with intent to cause the death of a person, does cause the death of that person or of another person; (2) felony murder, which means that someone was killed in the course of another crime such as arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping or sexual assault; (3) extreme indifference murder, in which a person does not target anyone in particular, but given the person’s extreme indifference to life generally, he or she engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to a person and thereby causes the death of another. An example of this latter category would be for a person to detonate a bomb in a crowd of people.
Possible Consequences For First-Degree Murder
Murder in the first degree is a class 1 felony and is known as a capital offense. Upon conviction, there are only two possible sentences: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
Possible Defenses For First-Degree Murder
In the case of intentional first-degree murder, the defense may center on the fact that the person did not intend to kill anyone and that the resulting death was an accident, which would lead to a conviction for a lesser offense. It may also be possible to demonstrate that the killing occurred in self-defense.
Homicide cases require a comprehensive defense approach that may require the assistance of other professionals in a variety of disciplines to analyze all aspects of the case. The defense may require experts in the areas of gunshot residue (GSR), DNA, serology, emergency medicine, psychology, psychiatry, human reaction, firearms, tool marks, foot marks, tire marks, crime scene investigations and police procedure.
The remaining defenses that may be applied in a first-degree murder case apply with equal force to those that may apply in any other criminal case. This includes an analysis of any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.
It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced lawyer to defend you in a first-degree murder case in Lakewood, Jefferson County, or across Colorado.
Call us at 303-872-4719 in the Greater Denver area or toll free across Colorado at 303-872-4719 for an initial consultation at reduced Rates. You can also contact us online.