Murder Defense Attorney in Georgia

If you are facing charges on a murder case, we can help.  Homicide or murder is considered by many to be the ultimate crime, which will likely lead to the most severe punishment, if the accused is convicted.  In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1 designates two different types of murder:

 

(1) Malice murder under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a) occurs when a person unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either expressed or implied, causes the death of another human being; and  

(2) Felony murder under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(b) occurs when a person causes the death of another human being, irrespective of malice, during the commission of a felony.

The punishment for either category of murder is the same: death, imprisonment for life without parole, or my imprisonment for life.  Often times the prosecutor will charge the accused with both categories of murder.  So, the indictment will read one count of felony murder and one count of malice murder for the same homicide.

 

   

Under Georgia law, malice means the intent to take a life without legal justification or mitigation.  Malice incorporates the intent to kill.  Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being, which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof.  Implied malice is where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.  Because malice can be formed in an instant, as long as it is present at the time of the act of killing, no premeditation is required.  Coercion or duress are never defenses to malice murder. 

 

Under Georgia law, felony murder does not require malice or intent to kill, it does, however, require that the defendant possess the requisite criminal intent to commit the underlying felony.  In our experienced at Lawrence Lewis, P.C., most felony murders occur during a drug deal.  Either one party wants to cheat or rob the other party, or both parties are super-anxious and guns come out prematurely.  The felony in a felony murder case must be inherently dangerous to human life.  Drug dealing is inherently dangerous because drugs and guns go together.  Where a jury renders a verdict for voluntary manslaughter, that same jury cannot also find a felony murder based on the same underlying aggravated assault. Wells v. State, 294 Ga. App. 277 (2008). 

CLICK HERE FOR DETAIL FOR MURDER DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN LAWRENCEVILLE

Homicide Defense Lawyer

If you are facing charges on a murder case, we can help.  Homicide or murder is considered by many to be the ultimate crime, which will likely lead to the most severe punishment, if the accused is convicted.  In Georgia, O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1 designates two different types of murder:

 

(1) Malice murder under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(a) occurs when a person unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either expressed or implied, causes the death of another human being; and  

(2) Felony murder under O.C.G.A. § 16-5-1(b) occurs when a person causes the death of another human being, irrespective of malice, during the commission of a felony.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

If you have been charged with malice murder, felony murder or voluntary manslaughter in metro-Atlanta or the surrounding areas, you desperately need our help.  You, or a family member, should contact us immediately Homicide Defense Lawyer at Lawrence Lewis, P. C. to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.  You can reach us at (678) 407-9300. 

Murder Defense Attorney Lawrenceville

Question: My son in law is incarcerated. The lawyer I was able to get him, since he is on trial for murder and we didn't have any money, said she would take a property in exchange for her services. She got the property, since september she has only been to see him seven times, will not accept his calls, does not return calls from the family or discusses what's going on with his case, other than she negotiated a plea of felony murder if he pleads guilty. He has 3 other co defendents and based on the evidence he was not the murderer. We don't feel that she has done everything in his best interest or defended him to the best of her abilities. What can be done since we don't have any money for a new attorney?

Answer: Request that the judge appoint an attorney to represent him. So, he will be represented by an attorney.

Answered By Lawrence Lewis - Murder Defense Attorney Lawrenceville, Murder Defense Attorneys Atlanta

The Police Failed to Read Me My Rights

Every week I receive some question concerning the significance of law enforcement’s failure to read someone his/her rights.  Sometimes the question explicitly asks if all of the charges can be dismissed, but most of the time the question is searching for some hope that the failure to read the rights might benefit the person that has been arrested.  Because it appears to be on the minds of so many people, I decided to just address it in its entirety. 

First, the rights that everyone is thinking and talking about are referred to as the Miranda warnings.  When law enforcement reads the Miranda rights, they tell the accused: 

You have the right to remain silent.  If you give up the right to remain silent, then everything you say can (and will) be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to an attorney.  If you cannot afford an attorney, one may be appointed to represent you.  Do you understand these rights? 

 Although those are the rights, the most important question comes at the end of those rights, which puts you on notice as to why the police are reading the rights in the first place: 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE 

Murder Defense Attorney Lawrenceville