Murder crimes are majorly divided into two major classes in most states, with the first class being more serious and receiving a bigger penalty than the second one. Most states refer to these classes as degrees, the first and the second-degree murder. First-degree murders are usually planned for before happening, unlike the second-degree ones that lack premeditation, although they are intentional (Wise, 2017). First-degree murders are considered more serious than second-degree murders. Although when it comes to the killing of a police officer, it is considered a serious felony.
In this case, the defendant in question will not be able to plead guilty to second-degree murder because of the nature of the murder being questioned. First of all, the murder was premeditated. This means that the defendant had been planning to kill the police officer for a period of time. It can still mean that the defendant had planned to kill a different person but ended up killing the police during the surprise attack (McCord et al., 2019). Police officers are law enforcement figures, so when it comes to killing a police officer; most states categorize this as first-degree murder (McCord et al., 2019) Therefore, recommendation of a lesser serious charge for the accused.
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Even though the witness, in this case, maybe biased due to their previous misconduct, the murder in question cannot allow the defendant to plead guilty for second-degree murder. This is because the murder of a law enforcement person is classified as first-degree murder in most States, and it's a serious felony followed by harsh punishment (Wise, 2017).
In this case, the defendant is trying to plead guilty to the second-degree murder and may argue that the murder they committed was self-defense. However, this might not be the case since it does not show putting anyone's life in fear of being killed. The defendant in question should, therefore, plead guilty to the first-degree murder in question.
References
McCord, D., Michi, M. & Follett, L. (2019). Differentiating Higher Level Homicides: An Empirical Analysis of the Impacts of Legal Definition in the Real World, rime of Second-degree Murder. Drake Law Review. Vol. 67, 23-26.
Wise, E. (2017). Criminal Law in Introduction to the Law of the United States. Criminal Law . 3-4. Retrieved from https://www.web.archive.org
