>>Very disturbing story
>>
>>the alleged murder is charged with second degree murder. Why not first degree?
>>
>>http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,493645,00.html
>
>I guess we had the same sort of misunderstanding about the difference. I thought premeditation was enough, but apparently not.
>
>Personally, I think they should do away with all the junk and just have a charge of murder. I'm clearly not a lawyer, so maybe my thoughts are too simplistic, but for me, killing somebody when it's not in self defense or defense of another, should simply be called 'murder', and that should be the charge. (Let's stay out of the argument about when somebody becomes a somebody for now - that's for another time.)
>
>Killing somebody while dui should be murder, not manslaughter, not 'dangerous driving causing death'.
>
>Pushing somebody down the stairs as a joke that ends up killing the person should be called 'murder'.

But you still have to draw a difference between accidental death and 'death by purpose', don't you think?

Many states will prosecute on 1st and 2nd degree charges with the major difference being that 1st degree carries the death penalty while the 2nd degree does not. That way, if they have a jury that will not (or cannot) agree on the death penalty, they can still get a conviction. Several states will go ahead and throw in 'manslaughter' on that same logic.