Murder in Florida law

Murder in Florida law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Florida.

The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that in the year 2020, the state had a murder rate slightly above the median for the entire country.^[1]

In Florida, a person is guilty of first-degree murder when it is perpetrated from a premeditated design to result in the death of a human being. A person is also guilty of first-degree murder if they cause the death of any individual during the commission of a predicate felony regardless of actual intent or premeditation, called felony murder. This offense is categorized as capital offense, so if convicted, the offender could possibly receive the death penalty.^[2][3]

In the state of Florida, the common law felony murder rule has been codified in Florida Statutes § 782.04.^[4] However, there is no specific guideline when it comes to scoring points for sentencing under the felony murder rule.

The predicate felonies that will support a charge of first degree murder under the statute are:^[5][6]

• Drug trafficking
• Arson
• Sexual battery
• Robbery or home invasion robbery
• Burglary
• Kidnapping
• Escape
• Aggravated abuse of a child, elderly person, or disabled adult
• Aircraft piracy
• Unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb
• Carjacking
• Aggravated stalking
• Resisting an officer with violence to his or her person
• Felonious acts of terrorism or in furtherance of an act of terrorism
• Distribution of some controlled substances like cocaine and opium

Second-degree murder is defined as either the killing of another human being during the commission of a second-degree felony, or through an act that is imminently dangerous to human life demonstrating a depraved mind. Also, if the defendant was involved in the commission of a predicate felony, but the homicide was perpetrated by another co-felon, the defendant can be charged with second degree murder.^[7]

Third-degree murder is defined as the unintentional killing of a human being during the commission or attempted commission of a non-violent felony.^[7]

Florida also recognizes the offense of attempted felony murder, codified in F.S. § 782.051. The offense punishes those that act in a way that can kill another person during the commission of one of the predicate felonies.^[4]

Source:^[8]

If a person committing a predicate felony directly contributed to the death of the victim then the person will be charged with murder in the first degree - felony murder which is a capital felony. The only two sentences available for that statute are life-without-parole and the death penalty.^[7][10]

If a person commits a predicate felony, but was not the direct contributor to the death of the victim then the person will be charged with murder in the second degree - felony murder which is a felony of the first degree. The maximum prison term is life-without-parole, and the minimum term is 10 years.^[7][10]

For juvenile offenders tried as adults, the standard maximum sentence for first- and second-degree murder is life-with-parole after 15 years if the death was unintentional, and 25 years of the death was intentional. The exception to this is for first-degree murders in which the death was intentional and the juvenile offender already had been convicted of a previous violent crime, in which case the juvenile can be sentenced to life-without-parole. The minimum sentence for first-degree murder for juveniles is 40 years.^[9]

• Ryan Holle, criminal defendant whose case involved a controversial application of the felony murder rule
• Jennifer Mee
• Law of Florida

• Text of the statute from the Florida Legislature