Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the death penalty.[1] In its original sense, capital murder was a statutory offence of aggravated murder in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, which was later adopted as a legal provision to define certain forms of aggravated murder in the United States. Some jurisdictions that provide for death as a possible punishment for murder, such as California, do not have a specific statute creating or defining a crime known as capital murder; instead, death is one of the possible sentences for certain kinds of murder.[2] In these cases, "capital murder" is not a phrase used in the legal system but may still be used by others such as the media.
- ^ Bohm, Robert (1999). DeathQuest: An Introduction to the Theory and Practice of Capital Punishment in the United States (4th ed.). Routledge. ISBN 1437734936.
- ^ "Chapter 1 of Title 8 of Part 1 of the California Penal Code". California Office of Legislative Counsel. 1872–2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.