Facing a homicide charge?

Homicide

Charged with homicide? Don't be cheap. You only get one chance to tell your side of the story.

The Memphis homicide/murder attorneys at Balestrini, Barnes, Jaber & Wood, PLLC are known for top-quality criminal defense, skillfully and effectively defending people accused of violent crimes such as homicide/murder. Our attorneys handle all kinds of violent crimes, including: assault, aggravated assault, domestic violence, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and murder which can result in a lifetime in prison or the death penalty. A Memphis homicide/murder attorney's primary job is to defend you against a powerful, organized, well-funded government. What that means for you is that we defend all clients, innocent or guilty, of murder to the absolute best of our ability.

 

• Homicide is the killing of one human being by another, either lawfully or unlawfully. Homicide includes both murder and manslaughter. A killing is lawful if it is done with justification or as a defense to oneself or another person's imminent threat of being killed.

 

• Murder is defined as the unlawful and unjustified killing of another human being with malice aforethought. "Malice aforethought" is defined as an intention to unlawfully kill a human being. That intention can be either express (such as pulling out a gun and pointing at a person and pulling the trigger after making a statement that they are going to kill the person) or implied by the actions.

 

• Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought. Manslaughter may be voluntary or involuntary. Essentially, the difference between manslaughter and murder is that manslaughter was the result of an accident, heat of passion, or some other act in which the person does not have the mental state to commit a murder.

 

• Vehicular Manslaughter occurs when a person drives a vehicle and unintentionally but unlawfully kills another human being. This occurs when the owner knows that there is a defect in the vehicle but still drives and someone is killed as a result of the defect in the vehicle.

 

• Voluntary Manslaughter occurs when a person kills another in the heat of passion, without planning beforehand. The classic example is when a person finds their spouse having sex with another and reacts immediately by killing both or one.

 

• Involuntary Manslaughter, also known as criminally negligent homicide, occurs when a death is an indirect result of recklessness or negligence. This occurs when a person runs a red light and hits another vehicle and a person is killed.