Attempted Murder Defense Attorney in Alabama
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Alabama has a homicide rate of 7.8 persons for every 100,000 citizens. Homicides are not necessarily the same as murder but refer to the death of one person because of another person’s actions or negligence. Homicides also include manslaughter and self-defense.
Even an attempt at killing another person is considered a serious crime. In Alabama, a charge of attempted murder can result in nearly the same criminal penalties as murder itself, including life in prison.
If you are under investigation for attempted murder or are facing a charge of attempted murder in or around Alabama, contact the criminal defense attorney at Burnett Law Firm. Attorney Yancey Burnett treats all his clients as family, and with a background as a public defender and 35 years of experience in defending others, he brings insights and an understanding of the justice system that other attorneys may lack. He will fight aggressively in your defense, seeking the best possible outcome.
Burnett Law Firm serves clients throughout Baldwin County and Mobile County in Alabama, including Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Gulf Shores, Bay Minette, Mobile, Prichard, Saraland, and Semmes.
What Is Attempted Murder in the Eyes of the Law?
Alabama Code § 13A-4-2 addresses what it terms criminal attempt: “A person is guilty of an attempt to commit a crime if, with the intent to commit a specific offense, he or she does any overt act toward the commission of the offense.”
Note the wording “a crime” and then consider the concept of murder, the intentional taking of another person’s life as defined in § 13A-6-2, and you have a picture of what attempted murder involves. On its most basic level, attempted murder means intending to kill and taking an overt act toward that result, but the killing is prevented or does not occur.
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How Do Prosecutors Prove Attempted Murder?
Consequences of Attempted Murder
If you merely contemplate the murder of another person, that does not generally cross over into the crime of attempted murder. For attempted murder to occur in Alabama, you must take what the law calls an overt act toward committing the crime. In other words, your actions must go beyond mere preparation and move toward perpetration. Examples can include:
- Stalking, tracking, or ambushing. If you take concrete actions to locate the victim or set up an ambush to carry out the killing, that can qualify as an overt act depending on the facts
- Luring. If you intentionally lure someone you plan to kill to a place or situation to carry out the attack, that can be an overt act.
- Breaking in. Forcibly entering a home or property with the intent to kill can be an overt act toward the offense.
- Constructing or assembling a weapon or device for the planned killing. For example, assembling an explosive to use on the victim can show an overt act beyond preparation.
- Soliciting help. Asking or hiring someone to kill is its own crime in Alabama (criminal solicitation) and can also be evidence of an attempt when combined with other overt acts and the specific intent to kill.
Along with proving an overt act, prosecutors must also prove specific intent to kill. General intent to commit a crime is not enough; the State must show you intended to cause a death.
Attempted murder is not divided into degrees in Alabama. Prosecutors must prove that you took an overt act toward killing someone and that you had the specific intent to kill.
Because attempted murder is charged under Alabama’s criminal attempt statute (Ala. Code § 13A-4-2) with murder (§ 13A-6-2) as the underlying offense, it is classified as a Class A felony.
If you are convicted of attempted murder in Alabama, you can face 10 to 99 years or life in prison, along with a fine of up to $60,000.
Potential Defenses for an Attempted Murder Charge
Defenses to a charge of attempted murder start with showing that you lacked the specific intent to kill and that you did not take an overt act toward the killing. In other words, preparation or planning never evolved into perpetration.
You can also argue justification, such as self-defense or defense of others, when the underlying use of force was lawful.
Another potential defense is voluntary abandonment (renunciation). If you changed your mind of your own accord and withdrew before the crime was committed, and your renunciation was complete and voluntary, that can be a defense.
Impossibility is generally not a defense in Alabama. The State does not have to prove that the plan could have succeeded. For example, using a nonfunctional bomb may still support an attempt charge if you believed it would work. However, evidence like this can sometimes undercut intent or show there was no qualifying overt act.
Attempted Murder Defense Attorney Serving Alabama
An attempted murder charge carries serious consequences, including prison time that may last your entire life, as well as societal implications. Your criminal record will make it hard for you to gain employment, housing, public benefits, and more. If charged with attempted murder, you need to enlist a strong legal team. If you are in Baldwin County or Mobile County, contact Burnett Law Firm. Reach out immediately to Attorney Yancey Burnett to get started on your defense.