Murder is a heinous crime that should not be taken lightly. If you’ve been charged with any level of murder in California, you might face decades in jail — or the rest of your life. Working with an expert homicide attorney who knows how to successfully defend people accused of this crime is important in these instances.
Based on the circumstances of a case, there are several viable defenses to a murder allegation. In rare cases, a lawyer may be able to get the case completely dropped due to police wrongdoing. In other situations, your lawyer can use any of these top defenses to fight a California murder accusation. Contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 for a free legal consultation.
It was an accident
A legal defense to an accusation of murder is an accident. It can be utilized in a murder case where the defendant:
- Had no intent to hurt
- Was not behaving carelessly
- Was otherwise engaged in lawful activity at the time of the killing.
A person, for example, put deadly liquid in an unlabeled container and then walked away to take a phone call. If another person discovered the bottle and tasted the poison, the first person may claim that their death was an accident because their sole intention was to place the poison in a bottle so that it could be properly disposed of.
Self-defense vs. others’ defense
This defense can be employed if you are defending yourself or another person from harm. If you reasonably think that you or someone else is in imminent danger of being murdered; suffering serious physical damage; or being the victim of a forceful or heinous crime, such as rape, you are allowed to use lethal force and take whatever steps are required under California law.
When a person is being mistreated by their spouse and fears being killed or suffering significant bodily damage, this is a typical case of self-defense. This defense may be used if the mistreated individual murders their spouse.
Insanity
In California, a person charged with murder can plead not guilty due to insanity. The M’Naughten test governs insanity defenses, which requires a defendant to show that they killed someone only because they didn’t comprehend the nature of their crime or they couldn’t tell right from wrong. This defense may be used by a person with schizophrenia who has heard voices instructing them to kill people.
Identification error
Although eyewitness evidence is notoriously unreliable, it is frequently used as the foundation for criminal convictions, including murder. A knowledgeable homicide lawyer can claim that a witness misidentified the murderer. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as proving that the suspected killer was elsewhere at the time of the crime, or contesting the use of line-ups or photo arrays as the basis for an identification.
At the Chambers Law Firm, we examine each case extensively in order to provide the most powerful defense available, which may be based on the facts of the case, California law, or a combination of the two. We can assist you if you have been charged with murder. To book a free first consultation, call 714-760-4088 or email dchambers@clfca.com.
