In United States law, depraved-heart murder, also known as depraved-indifference murder, is a type of murder where an individual acts with a "depraved indifference" to human life and where such acts result in a death, despite that individual not explicitly intending to kill. In a depraved-heart murder, defendants commit an act even though they know their act runs an unusually high risk of causing death or serious bodily harm to a person. If the risk of death or bodily harm is great enough, ignoring it demonstrates a "depraved indifference" to human life and the resulting death is considered to have been committed with malice aforethought.[1][2] In some states, depraved-heart killings constitute second-degree murder,[3] while in others, the act would be charged with "wanton murder",[4][5] varying degrees of manslaughter,[6] or third-degree murder.
If no death results, such an act would generally constitute reckless endangerment (sometimes known as "culpable negligence") and possibly other crimes, such as assault.
- ^ Commonwealth v. Malone, 354 Pa. 180, 47 A.2d 445 (1946).
- ^ Jenée Desmond-Harris (May 1, 2015). "An officer has been charged with depraved heart murder in Freddie Gray's death. What is that?". vox.com. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
- ^ Bonnie, R.J. et al. Criminal Law, Second Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NYL 2004, p. 797
- ^ "Six Police Officers Charged In Freddie Gray's Death; Praise, Scrutiny For State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby". The Lead with Jake Tapper. CNN. May 1, 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Brown v. Commonwealth of Kentucky". Justia Law. September 3, 1998. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "§ 163.118¹ Manslaughter in the first degree". www.oregonlaws.org. Retrieved 8 September 2015.