Posted by Eugene Volokh: Why Isn't the Alleged Wife-Beheader Being Charged with First-Degree Murder? http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_02_15-2009_02_21.shtml#1235061128
After all, a lawyer friend of mine argues, a beheading suggests at least some amount of premeditation and deliberation, which is what our criminal law course taught is required for first-degree murder. The answer is that the first-/second-degree murder line varies a great deal from state to state. Some allow a first-degree murder conviction based on evidence of even a few seconds' worth of premeditation and deliberation. Some require evidence of some time during which the person was calm -- as opposed to in a rage -- and premeditated and deliberated calmly. And some have a detailed list of circumstances that can justify a first-degree murder charge (especially if they use the first-/second-degree murder distinction to distinguish between generally death-penalty-eligible murders and other murders). New York fits in the last category: [1]New York Penal Law � 125.27 lists thirteen circumstances under which a murder can be charged as a first-degree murder, and it seems likely that none of these circumstances applies here. References 1. http://law.onecle.com/new-york/penal/PEN0125.27_125.27.html
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