Homicide & Manslaughter Defense in Oklahoma

Some deaths occur when a person believes deadly force is necessary to protect themselves or another person. Oklahoma law recognizes circumstances in which the use of deadly force may be legally justified.

A self-defense case requires much more than simply saying, “I was defending myself.” The events leading up to the encounter, threats, injuries, witness accounts, physical evidence, video, weapons, and the positions and actions of the people involved can all become important.

The defendant's state of mind can be one of the most important issues separating one homicide offense from another.

For first-degree murder with malice aforethought, the State must prove a deliberate intention to take a human life. Second-degree murder by imminently dangerous conduct, by contrast, requires a depraved state of mind while also requiring that the conduct was not done with the intention of taking the life of any particular individual.

First-degree manslaughter presents still different theories, including misdemeanor-manslaughter, heat-of-passion manslaughter, and an unnecessary killing while resisting an attempted crime or after that attempt has failed.

These are materially different theories of criminal liability.

The prosecution's decision to charge someone with murder does not establish that murder occurred. Examining the evidence concerning intent, state of mind, the events immediately preceding the death, and what actually happened can be essential to determining whether the State can prove the offense it charged.

Several homicide theories depend upon proving another criminal offense.

First-degree felony murder requires one of the specifically identified qualifying felonies. Second-degree felony murder involves other felonies. Misdemeanor-manslaughter depends upon proof of an underlying misdemeanor.

The State's ability to prove that underlying offense can therefore become central to the homicide case itself.

The State carries the burden of proving every element of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt.

Homicide cases can generate enormous investigative files, but the amount of evidence is not necessarily the same thing as the strength of the evidence.

The defense must determine what each piece of evidence actually establishes, what it does not establish, whether witnesses are reliable, whether evidence was lawfully obtained, and where investigators or prosecutors may have substituted assumptions for proof.

Witnesses can be wrong.

Stress, darkness, distance, intoxication, rapidly unfolding events, prior relationships, bias, inconsistent statements, and the manner in which law enforcement conducts an identification can all affect the reliability of eyewitness testimony.

Statements made immediately after an incident should also be carefully compared with later interviews and testimony.

DNA, fingerprints, firearms evidence, autopsy findings, toxicology, cell-phone data, surveillance footage, digital records, and other forensic evidence can become central to a homicide prosecution.

Scientific evidence should be examined, not simply accepted because the State labels it “forensic.” The defense may need to scrutinize how evidence was collected, preserved, tested, interpreted, and ultimately presented.

What happens during an interrogation can become a major issue in a homicide case.

The defense should examine whether constitutional requirements were followed, whether statements were voluntary, whether improper interrogation techniques were used, and whether the accused person's words are being presented in their full context.

The difference depends on the theory alleged by the State.

First-degree murder with malice aforethought requires a deliberate intention to take a human life. First-degree felony murder instead involves a death occurring in connection with certain specifically identified underlying felonies.

Second-degree murder can involve either imminently dangerous conduct demonstrating a depraved mind without an intention to take the life of a particular individual, or a death perpetrated while the defendant is engaged in a felony other than those designated for first-degree felony murder.

Malice aforethought does not mean hatred, spite, or ill will.

For purposes of first-degree murder, it means a deliberate intention to take the life of a human being. That intent must exist before and at the time of the homicidal act, but it does not have to exist for any particular length of time. The intent may be formed instantly before the act.

There is no single distinction that applies to every murder and manslaughter charge.

First-degree murder may involve malice aforethought or felony murder. Second-degree murder may involve imminently dangerous conduct demonstrating a depraved mind or certain felony-murder circumstances. First-degree manslaughter includes three separate statutory theories, while second-degree manslaughter can involve culpable negligence.

The particular offense therefore depends on the defendant's alleged conduct, state of mind, circumstances surrounding the death, and the elements the State can actually prove.

First-degree manslaughter may be charged when a death is caused without a design to effect death, while the defendant is acting in the heat of passion, and the death is inflicted in a cruel and unusual manner or by means of a dangerous weapon.

The homicide must also occur under circumstances that are neither excusable nor justifiable.

First-degree manslaughter is a Class A2 felony punishable by 4 years to life in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Second-degree murder is a Class A1 felony punishable by 10 years to life in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections.

Yes. Oklahoma law recognizes circumstances in which homicide may be justified through lawful self-defense or defense of another person.

Whether deadly force was legally justified depends heavily on the facts, making evidence about what happened before and during the confrontation particularly important.

Potentially. Whether the evidence supports murder, manslaughter, another offense, or no criminal homicide at all depends on the facts and the elements the State can prove.

In an appropriate case, challenging the prosecution's evidence concerning intent, state of mind, justification, or the circumstances of the killing can affect the appropriate charge.

Do not assume that explaining yourself will make the investigation go away.

You should speak with a criminal defense attorney before answering substantive questions about a homicide investigation. Even statements that seem harmless when made can later become part of the prosecution's case.

Remember, you will never talk your way out of an investigation or help yourself by giving your side of the story. Everything you say will be used against you to fit the investigation’s narrative. Decline all conversations with law enforcement and get an experienced attorney involved immediately.

Contact a defense attorney as quickly as possible and tell your family member not to discuss the facts of the case with other people.

That includes conversations from jail. Calls and other communications from detention facilities may be recorded or monitored. The safest place to discuss the facts of the case is privately with the person's attorney.