Murder in Florida law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Florida.
InFlorida, a person is guilty of first-degree murder when it is perpetrated from a premeditated design to result in the death of a human being. A person is also guilty of first-degree murder if they cause the death of any individual during the commission of a predicate felony regardless of actual intent or premeditation, called felony murder. This offense is categorized as capital offense, so if convicted, the offender could possibly receive the death penalty.[2][3]
In the state of Florida, the common lawfelony murder rule has been codified in Florida Statutes § 782.04.[4] However, there is no specific guideline when it comes to scoring points for sentencing under the felony murder rule.
Second-degree murder is defined as either the killing of another human being during the commission of a second-degree felony, or through an act that is imminently dangerous to human life demonstrating a depraved mind. Also, if the defendant was involved in the commission of a predicate felony, but the homicide was perpetrated by another co-felon, the defendant can be charged with second degree murder.[7]
Florida also recognizes the offense of attempted felony murder, codified in F.S. § 782.051. The offense punishes those that act in a way that can kill another person during the commission of one of the predicate felonies.[4]
Maximum of life-with-parole after 15 or 25 years if the juvenile was not convicted of any earlier violent crimes
Maximum of life-without-parole if the juvenile had been convicted of any earlier violent crimes and the murder was intentional[9]
If a person committing a predicate felony directly contributed to the death of the victim then the person will be charged with murder in the first degree - felony murder which is a capital felony. The only two sentences available for that statute are life-without-parole and the death penalty.[7][10]
If a person commits a predicate felony, but was not the direct contributor to the death of the victim then the person will be charged with murder in the second degree - felony murder which is a felony of the first degree. The maximum prison term is life-without-parole, and the minimum term is 10 years.[7][10]
For juvenile offenders tried as adults, the standard maximum sentence for first- and second-degree murder is life-with-parole after 15 years if the death was unintentional, and 25 years of the death was intentional. The exception to this is for first-degree murders in which the death was intentional and the juvenile offender already had been convicted of a previous violent crime, in which case the juvenile can be sentenced to life-without-parole. The minimum sentence for first-degree murder for juveniles is 40 years.[9]
