Teenager Convicted of Murder in Georgia

Reports out of Savannah state that a teenager who was accused of a double homicide as well as a deadly police chase has been convicted. He has been found guilty after a jury trial of both murder and vehicular homicide in Georgia.

In 2017, the teenager was accused of shooting two victims. The incident led to a dangerous police chase that resulted in the death of a pedestrian.

As a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer, I will outline one of the homicide offenses in today's post - murder in Georgia.

There are various types of homicide crimes according to Georgia Law. This is similar in each state - however, the proper classifications and legal elements differ from crime to crime as well as state to state. Read how the law is laid out in Georgia.

Murder in Georgia

Murder in Georgia is defined by Georgia Law in O.C.G.A. §16-5-1(a) as:

A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, express or implied, causes the death of another human being.

There are a few very important terms that set murder apart from other homicide offenses in our state such as voluntary manslaughter in Georgia.

Our courts define malice as a wicked or corrupt motive or an intention to do evil and which the result is fatal and an unlawful objective to kill without justification or mitigation.

Express malice is the deliberate intention to unlawfully take the life of another human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.

It probably goes without saying that the criminal offense of murder is classified as a felony in the state of Georgia. The penalty if convicted of murder is either life in prison without the possibility of parole, a life sentence, or the death penalty.

Practice Note

If you have been arrested in the state of Georgia - especially if the charges are classified as serious felonies - do not wait to contact a Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney today.