What is the Role of Plea Bargaining in Murder Cases in Missouri?

What Are Your Legal Options if You Face a Murder Charge in Missouri?

What are the penalties for a murder conviction in Missouri, and what constitutes murder in this state? If you are charged with murder or with manslaughter in or near Kansas City or Jefferson City, you must contact a Missouri homicide lawyer as quickly as possible.

Missouri defines first-degree murder as causing someone’s death knowingly and intentionally “after deliberation upon the matter.” Missouri defines second-degree murder in two ways:

1.  The first way is causing someone’s death knowingly (but without previous deliberation) or, while intending to cause severe physical injury, causing the person’s death.
2.  The second way is killing someone while committing or attempting to commit a felony. (This is Missouri’s “felony murder rule.”)

What Are the Penalties for a Murder Conviction in Missouri?

If you are 18 or older when the murder is committed, a murder conviction in Missouri is punishable with the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole. Defendants under 18 at the time of the crime may be imprisoned from thirty years to life.

Second-degree murder, a Class A felony in Missouri, may be penalized upon conviction with ten to thirty years in prison, and in some cases, life in prison with the possibility of parole.

What is Your Recourse if You Face a Murder Charge?

If the police take you into custody and charge you with murder, request an attorney immediately. Do not discuss your case with anyone except your Missouri criminal defense attorney. Whether or not the police read your rights, you have the right to remain silent.

If the police want to question you, either before or after they arrest you, politely say something like, “I’d rather not answer questions before speaking with my attorney,” and then say no more. No one can penalize you for exercising your constitutional right to remain silent.

How Will Your Defense Attorney Handle Your Case?

If you face a murder charge in this state, your Missouri homicide attorney will investigate the details of the charge, find any weaknesses or mistakes in the state’s case against you, and develop an aggressive, effective strategy for your defense.

However, if a prosecutor’s evidence against you is persuasive and your conviction is inevitable, your defense attorney may negotiate a plea bargain. In most plea deals, a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser charge and accepts a reduced or alternative sentence.

How Does a Plea Bargain Work?

Plea bargaining is what happens when the prosecutor and your defense attorney discuss resolving your case without a trial. A plea deal may be agreed to at any point in the case, from before the arraignment right up until a trial jury arrives at a verdict.

When your attorney and the prosecutor negotiate, the prosecutor may offer a particular plea deal. Your defense attorney may make a counteroffer. You may accept or reject a plea bargain offer. If you take it, you may enter your plea at your next court appearance or request an earlier date.

In most plea agreements in murder cases in Missouri, a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to a reduced charge, such as involuntary or voluntary manslaughter, and agrees to serve the sentence for that lesser charge.

Should You Accept a Plea Agreement?

Consider any plea deal offer carefully and discuss it with your Missouri criminal defense attorney. The choice to accept a plea agreement is the defendant’s alone. However, if your attorney recommends a particular plea deal offer, you should probably take it.

Prosecutors are not required or obligated to offer plea deals. Whether your lawyer is even allowed to negotiate is entirely up to the prosecutor. When both sides agree, the deal still must be approved by the court. Only a judge can make a binding, final decision about your sentence.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Plea Bargains?

Juries are unpredictable, but plea deals eliminate surprises. With a plea bargain, you know the outcome. A murder trial can take weeks to resolve, but a plea bargain saves time and money for both the defendant and the state.

The disadvantages of taking a plea bargain must also be considered. If you are the defendant, you will waive your right to a trial by jury and your right to remain silent. You will have a criminal conviction for the lesser charge on your record, and you’ll face the penalties for that conviction.

Additionally, when you accept a plea agreement, you usually also waive your right to appeal your conviction.

Should You Plead No Contest?

An important consideration in plea negotiating is deciding if you should plead not guilty or “no contest.” A no contest plea means that although you are not pleading guilty, you choose not to fight the charge or charges and to accept a conviction.

Why would you plead no contest? If the murder victim’s family subsequently sues you for wrongful death in civil court, the family then has no confession of your guilt to present as evidence to that court.

A guilty plea, on the other hand, is a confession of guilt that a murder victim’s family could offer as evidence in a wrongful death trial. Before you plead no contest – or enter any other plea – discuss your case and your options with your Missouri homicide lawyer.

If You Are Charged With Murder, Who Should Represent You?

If you are facing a murder charge in Kansas City, Jefferson City, or anywhere in Missouri, you should be advised and defended by an attorney who has established a reputation for legal excellence – a criminal defense attorney at Loraine Law Center.

Attorneys Kyle Loraine and Spencer Smith are former prosecutors who understand criminal law from both sides of the courtroom. They bring that experience and a proven record of success to every client and every case.

If you’re charged with murder or another violent crime in Missouri, now or in the future, call the team at Loraine Law Center immediately – at 573-284-3048 in Jefferson City or 816-720-7634 in Kansas City – to schedule a free thirty-minute evaluation of your case with no obligation.