Murder (Homicide) Laws in Nevada – 1st & 2nd Degree

Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) § 200.030 makes it a felony to commit murder, which is the malicious and unlawful killing of a human being. First-degree murder is the most serious type of murder, consisting of:

1. Premeditated killings and
2. Felony murder, which is killing while committing a serious felony (such as robbery or burglary).

Second-degree murder refers to unintentional killings where you acted so recklessly that death was a foreseeable consequence.

This table spells out Nevada’s penalty ranges for murder and manslaughter.

Homicide Charge	Punishment in Nevada*
First-degree murder	Category A felony Death penalty if the aggravating circumstances outweigh the mitigating circumstances, or Life in Nevada State Prison with or without the possibility of parole after 20 years, or 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. The sentence will increase by one to 20 years if the victim was at least 60 years old.
Second-degree murder	Category A felony:  25 years or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. The sentence will increase by one to 20 years if the victim was at least 60 years old.
Voluntary manslaughter	Category B felony:  1 to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000.
Involuntary manslaughter	Category D felony:  1 to 4 years in prison and up to $5,000.
* Using a deadly weapon triggers a sentence enhancement of one to 20 years. Also, if you were under 18 at the time of the homicide, you may be eligible for parole after serving 20 years in prison.

In this article, our Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys discuss the following murder topics:

• 1. Elements
• 2. Death Penalty
• 3. Murder vs. Manslaughter
• 4. Defenses
• 5. Federal Law
• 6. Record Seals
• 7. Immigration Consequences
• 8. Related Homicide Offenses
• Additional Reading

1. Elements

First-Degree Murder

First-degree murder comprises any premeditated killing. Examples include deliberately shooting, stabbing, strangling, poisoning, or beating someone to death.

Finally, first-degree murder includes felony murder, which is killing someone while committing any of the following ten felonies:

1. Rape (“sexual assault”),
2. Burglary,
3. Invasion of the home,
4. Arson,
5. Kidnapping,
6. Robbery,
7. Child abuse,
8. Elder abuse or abuse of a vulnerable person pursuant to NRS 200.5099,
9. Sexual abuse of a child (such as lewdness with a minor), or
10. Sexual molestation of a child under the age of 14 years.

You can be convicted of felony murder even if you had no intention of killing anyone while committing the underlying felony.¹

Aiding & Abetting

Helping someone else carry out a murder is still murder even if you did not physically cause the death yourself. Examples of aiding and abetting are:

• Keeping a lookout while another person is committing the murder,
• Pretending to be an alibi to the person who committed the murder, or
• Giving information to a person to help them commit the murder.

In short, accomplices to a killing are treated the same as the “principal” who actually killed the victim.

Note that aiding and abetting a murder is different from conspiracy to commit murder. Conspiracy is when two or more people agree to break the law. Therefore if you and someone else conspire to commit a murder but get caught before you can carry it out, you both would still face conspiracy charges.²

Second-Degree Murder

Second-degree murder is an unintentional homicide caused by conduct so reckless that death was a foreseeable result. The classic example is playing Russian roulette: Even if you had no desire to kill, any reasonable person would know that firing a partly loaded gun at someone carries a high risk of causing death.

Other examples of second-degree murder may include:

• Throwing an object off a roof when there is a crowd below, causing the object to strike and kill one of the people on the street,
• Firing a gun into a building that you wrongly believe is vacant, and an occupant dies, or
• Setting off fireworks knowing there is a person within an unsafe distance, and the person dies from the explosion.

It is also considered second-degree murder to unintentionally cause someone’s death by providing them drugs. An example is bringing brownies laced with ecstasy to a potluck, and one of the guests has a bad reaction to the drug and dies.

Note that fatal DUIs are not prosecuted as murder even though drunk/drugged driving is extremely reckless behavior. It is instead charged as DUI causing death.³

2. Death Penalty

Nevada courts may impose the death penalty for a first-degree murder conviction only if:

• The court finds there is at least one aggravating circumstance (which is a fact about you that makes the killing more shameful), and
• The aggravating circumstances outweigh all the mitigating circumstances (which are factors that make you less blameworthy).

Examples of aggravating circumstances include:

• You tortured the victim prior to killing them,
• The victim was under 14 years old, or
• You killed at random without a motive.

Meanwhile, examples of mitigating circumstances include:

• You grew up in an abusive home,
• You have contributed to the community, or
• You are a good parent.

In short, Nevada courts are required to impose the death penalty only if it finds you more deserving of punishment than mercy.¹³ Two exceptions that make you immune to the death penalty are if:

• You were under 18 at the time of the killing, or
• You are intellectually disabled.

Even though Nevada is a capital murder state, no one has been executed since 2006. Death Row is in Ely State Prison for males and the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center for females.⁴

3. Murder vs. Manslaughter

The difference between murder and manslaughter in Nevada is that murder requires “malice aforethought.” In other words, evil.

Both voluntary and involuntary manslaughter are less serious than murder precisely because there is no malice. Although the killing is still unlawful, your motivation is not as blameworthy.

Voluntary manslaughter is killing in the heat of passion after being provoked by an “irresistible” impulse. The classic example is walking in on your spouse in bed with another person and immediately killing them out of rage. Because it is so instant, there is no time to formulate malice.

Meanwhile, involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing done while either:

• breaking the law (such as hunting without a license) or
• being negligent (such as leaving out a loaded gun).⁵

There is no malice because you do not mean to kill anyone, and your actions – while unlawful – do not rise to the level extreme recklessness.

Depending on your case, it may be possible to get a murder charge reduced to manslaughter as part of a plea deal. In addition to carrying lesser penalties than murder, manslaughter also carries less of a social stigma.

4. Defenses

How best to fight Nevada murder charges depends on the facts of the case and available evidence. Based on our successful track record of getting homicide charges reduced or dismissed, our Las Vegas murder defense attorneys often rely on the following six strategies.

1) You Acted in Self-Defense (or Defense of Others)

In Nevada, it is justifiable homicide to kill in self-defense or defense of others if:

1. It is reasonable to believe that the perpetrator is about to inflict death or substantial bodily harm, and
2. You fight back with no more force than necessary to deflect the threat.

In short, your decision to use deadly force must be reasonable under the circumstances. It is not enough that you feared for your life: Any reasonable person in your position would have to fear for their life, too.

Killing without reasonable justification is called “imperfect self-defense.” Although imperfect self-defense can never get a murder charge reduced, we have used it to persuade prosecutors to lower a murder charge to manslaughter.

Note that Nevada law allows you to “stand your ground” and fight back as long as you are not the initial aggressor; there is no duty to retreat. Plus, under Nevada’s castle doctrine, you may kill intruders in your home or vehicle even if you do not fear death or substantial bodily harm; you just have to reasonably believe they have violent intent.⁶

2) The Incident Was an Accident

A killing is accidental – and therefore not a crime in Nevada – when you:

1. Had no criminal intent to do harm, and
2. Were not acting negligently at the time of the killing, and
3. Were not acting unlawfully at the time of the killing.

Helpful evidence that shows you were blameless includes video surveillance and eyewitness accounts of the incident. There are even expert witnesses that can distinguish between injuries that were intentional versus accidental.

Note that you could still be sued for wrongful death even if you are never criminally charged with or convicted of homicide. The bar to prove wrongful death in civil court – “by a preponderance of the evidence” –  is much lower than the criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”⁷

3) You Were Insane

Nevada courts rely on the “M’Naughten test” to determine whether a defendant is insane. This means that the court may adjudge you “not guilty by reason of insanity” if we can prove that you either:

1. Did not understand the nature of your act or
2. Could not distinguish between right and wrong.⁸

We routinely call expert medical witnesses to testify as to your mental state. Note that if you are acquitted of murder due to insanity, you may be committed to a mental institution.

4) The Police Coerced Your Confession

If you admitted to committing the murder because the police coerced you, your confession is invalid. Examples of coercion include the officers

• threatening your family,
• threatening you with the death penalty, or
• offering you laxer treatment

in exchange for your confession.⁹

If we can show that the police forced you to make an involuntary confession, the judge may exclude the confession as evidence. In many cases, the police’s own bodycam footage shows they acted unlawfully.

5) The Police Conducted an Illegal Search

If the police failed to follow Fourth Amendment search and seizure laws, we can ask the court to exclude any evidence found from the unlawful search. If the court agrees, the D.A. may be forced to drop your murder charge for lack of proof.

Note that consenting to a police search always makes it legal, even if the police do not have a search warrant or legal grounds to search. Therefore if police ever ask your permission to search, you should politely decline.¹⁰

6) You Were Wrongly Identified as the Killer

There are several reasons that eyewitnesses may incorrectly identify you as the suspect, including:

• Intoxication,
• Being fixated on the weapon instead of the killer,
• The heightened stress of the situation,
• The passage of time between the incident and the identification, and/or
• Improper suggestions by law enforcement.¹¹

As long as we can demonstrate that the state’s witnesses are unreliable, then the D.A. may be left with insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction.

5. Federal Law

Situations that elevate murder to a federal crime include:

• The victim was a congressmen or judge,
• The motive was to influence a court case, or
• It was done during a bank robbery, on a ship, or through the mail (such as package bombs).

Federal law permits the death penalty for first-degree murder. Otherwise, both first- and second-degree murder carry life in Federal Prison. Meanwhile, attempted murder carries up to 20 years in prison and/or a fine.

6. Record Seals

Nevada murder convictions remain on your criminal record forever if the victim was under 18 years old.

Otherwise, Nevada murder convictions can be sealed from your criminal record 10 years after the case ends. (The wait time to seal manslaughter convictions is also 10 years after the case ends.)

Note that a case “ends” after you are finished serving your sentence, including parole. Obviously, you can never seal your record if you are serving life in prison.

If your murder charge gets dismissed (such as after an acquittal at trial), then you can pursue a record seal immediately.¹³

7. Immigration Consequences

As an aggravated felony and a crime of moral turpitude, murder is a deportable crime. Therefore, non-citizens convicted of murder will be thrown out of the U.S. following the prison sentence.¹⁴

8. Related Homicide Offenses

Nevada Crime	Definition & Penalties
Attempted murder by poison – NRS 200.390	Taking a direct step to fatally poison someone, but you are unsuccessful. Category A felony:  Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 5 years or 15 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 5 years. The sentence may be increased by 1 to 20 years if the victim was 60 or older.
Attempted murder (without poison) – NRS 200.030	Taking a direct step to commit murder without using poison, but you are unsuccessful. Category B felony:  2 to 20 years in prison. The sentence may be increased by 1 to 20 years if the victim was 60 or older.
Conspiracy to commit murder – NRS 199.480	Agreeing with at least one other person to murder someon, and at least one of the conspirators takes some act to further the agreement. Category B felony:  2 to 10 years in prison and up to $5,000.
DUI causing death – NRS 484C.430	Causing death by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Class B felony:  2 to 20 years in prison and $2,000 to $5,000 plus a 3-year license suspension.
Vehicular manslaughter – NRS 484B.657	Negligently causing another’s death while driving. Misdemeanor:  Up to 6 months in jail and/or $1,000 plus a 1-year license suspension.
Vehicular homicide – NRS 484C.130	A fatal DUI when you have 3 prior DUI convictions. Category A felony:  25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years.
Feticide – NRS 200.210 (prosecuted as voluntary manslaughter)	Terminating an unborn baby unless a licensed physician is performing a lawful abortion. Category B felony:  1 to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000.

Note that the prison sentence for the above crimes will increase by one to 20 years if you used a deadly weapon.¹⁵

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Murder Felony is Felony Murder: How the Nevada Supreme Court’s Decision in Nay v. State Reflects the Growing Misconception Surrounding Afterthought Robbery – Nevada Law Journal
• The Stickiness of Felony Murder: The Morality of a Murder Charge – Mississippi Law Journal
• Evil and the Law of Murder – U.C. Davis Law Review
• How Should We Punish Murder – Marquette Law Review
• Rape, Murder, and Formalism: What Happens if We Define Mistake of Law – University of Colorado Law Review

See our related articles on habitual criminals and habitual felons, manslaughter vs. murder, appeals, and writs of habeas corpus.

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Legal References