Phoenix First-Degree Murder Lawyer

What is the sentence for first-degree murder in Arizona?

What Is First-Degree Murder? (A.R.S. 13-1105)

The starting point of any defense is understanding exactly what the State has to prove, and what it does not.

Under A.R.S. 13-1105, first-degree murder is a premeditated killing, a killing during certain felonies (felony murder), or the killing of a law-enforcement officer. It is the most serious charge in Arizona.

What the State Must Prove

• A death was caused.
• Premeditation (reflection, however brief), OR the death occurred during an enumerated felony, OR the victim was a peace officer.
• The act was intentional or knowing (or, for felony murder, occurred in the course of the felony).

Every element must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. If any one fails, the charge fails.

Related & Lesser Charges

Reduces to second-degree murder or manslaughter when premeditation or malice is defeated.

Penalties for First-Degree Murder: Prison & Sentencing

Violent-crime sentencing in Arizona is driven by the dangerous-offense allegation and, in homicides, the degree of the killing.

First-degree murder is a Class 1 felony punishable by natural life, life with no release for 25 years, or the death penalty. It is the only charge in Arizona that carries capital punishment, which is why the defense must begin immediately.

Penalty Ranges at a Glance

General guidance only; your exposure depends on the facts, your record, and the dangerous-offense allegation.

The Dangerous-Offense Allegation (A.R.S. 13-704)

This is the single biggest factor in most violent-crime sentences.

First-degree murder is a capital offense, the only one in Arizona, so the defense begins immediately with the aggravating factors that make it death-eligible.

The dangerous-offense allegation is the single biggest driver of the sentence, see how it works on our Phoenix violent crimes hub. Striking or avoiding it can be the difference between probation and years in prison.

How the State Builds a First-Degree Murder Case

Knowing how the State will try to prove it is the first step in dismantling it.

Understanding how the State will try to prove a first-degree murder case is the first step in taking it apart. Built on forensics, digital evidence, witnesses, and the theory of premeditation, all of which we attack. The evidence usually falls into a few categories, and each has weaknesses:

• Witness accounts, often biased, intoxicated, or mistaken about who the aggressor was.
• Video & digital evidence, surveillance, cell-phone, and social-media footage, which frequently helps the defense.
• Forensics, DNA, injuries, autopsy, and crime-scene evidence, which prove less than juries assume.
• Your statements, anything police pulled from you, which may be suppressible.

How We Defend a First-Degree Murder Charge in Phoenix

An accusation is not a conviction, and in Arizona self-defense is a complete defense.

An accusation is not a conviction. Defeating premeditation, raising self-defense, and attacking felony-murder liability, identity, and causation. In Arizona, self-defense and justification (A.R.S. 13-404/405) is a complete defense with no duty to retreat, and once raised the State must disprove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Our approach:

• Self-defense & justification, reconstructing the threat and who the real aggressor was.
• Attacking the dangerous allegation, whether a weapon was used or the injury truly serious.
• Challenging intent and causation, the line between an accident, recklessness, and a crime.
• Testing the evidence, witness bias, identification, DNA, and video.
• Suppressing unlawful statements and searches.

See how self-defense works in Arizona, and, for assault cases, how to beat an aggravated assault charge. We bring the experts, from use-of-force analysts to forensic pathologists, to dismantle the State’s case.

Where Your Case Is Heard & What To Do Now

Acting early, and saying nothing, protects your future.

A felony violent crime is prosecuted in the Maricopa County Superior Court (175 W. Madison Ave.). Violent and homicide cases are charged aggressively and move quickly, so the time to build your defense, and to lock in the self-defense narrative before witnesses drift, is now.

What To Do Right Now

• Do not talk to police. Even “telling your side” of a self-defense incident can be twisted against you, let your lawyer tell it.
• Do not discuss the case with anyone, or post about it online.
• Preserve evidence, your injuries (photograph them), the scene, video, and the names of witnesses.
• Call a violent-crime defense lawyer immediately, before charges are finalized and the dangerous allegation is locked in.