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• Make a Payment
• Attorney Profile
• Understanding The Fight – Mutual Combat – And Colorado Self Defense Law
  • Self Defense Law In Colorado 18-1-704 – Do I Have To Run? – The Duty To Retreat Issue
  • Colorado Self Defense Law – When Innocent Third Parties Are Injured
• Is PTSD A Defense To Violent & Other Crimes Under Colorado Law?
• Colorado Violent Crimes – A Time For Strategy – A Time For Experience
• The Police Cannot Create Their Own Exigent (Emergency) Circumstance To Violate Your Rights In Colorado
• Colorado Criminal Restitution Law – Can A Victim Collect For Future Restitution Unknown At Sentencing?
• Understanding Colorado Law – If You Start A Fight – You May Not Be Allowed To Claim Self Defense
• Colorado Criminal Self Defense Law – Make My Day Law – NOT A Stand Your Ground Law
• Colorado Criminal Law – The Law Of “Fresh Pursuit” – Can The Police Chase You Into Another County Or State?
• Colorado Criminal Law – Will The Judge Accept Our Plea Bargain – Plea Deal?
• When The Colorado DA Fails To Turn Over Material Evidence – Brady Violations And Post Conviction Motions
• Colorado Criminal Law – Using The Bill Of Particulars To Fight Your Criminal Case
• Colorado Criminal Law – Audio Recordings And Text Messages Will Hurt You At Trial
• Colorado Criminal Law – Understanding Mandatory Sentencing For Violent Crimes
• Colorado Felony and Misdemeanor Sentencing Chart
• Colorado Criminal Law – Your Conscience, A Criminal Charge, And The Decision To Retain A Lawyer
• The Colorado Crime of Robbery
  • The Colorado Crime Of Robbery 18-4-301
  • The Colorado Crime of Aggravated Robbery 18-4-302
• The Colorado Burglary Crimes
  • The Colorado Crime of First Degree Burglary 18-4-202
  • The Colorado Crime Of Second Degree Burglary 18-4-203
  • The Colorado Crime of Third Degree Burglary 18-4-204
  • The Colorado Crime Of Possession Of Burglary Tools 18-4-205
• The Colorado Homicide – Murder Felony Crimes
  • The Colorado Crime Of Murder In The First Degree 18-3-102
  • The Colorado Crime Of Murder In The Second Degree 18-3-103
  • The Colorado Crime of Manslaughter 18-3-104
  • The Colorado Crime Of Criminally Negligent Homicide 18-3-105
• The Colorado Kidnapping Crimes
  • The Colorado Crime of First Degree Kidnapping 18-5-301
  • The Colorado Crime Of Second Degree Kidnapping 18-3-302
• The Colorado Crime Of Menacing 18-3-206
• The Colorado Crime of False Imprisonment 18-3-303
• The Colorado Crime Of Vehicular Homicide 18-3-106
• The Colorado Assault Crimes
  • The Colorado Crime Of First Degree Assault – 18-3-202
  • The Colorado Crime Of Second Degree Assault – 18-3-203
  • The Colorado Crime of Third Degree Assault 18-3-204
  • The Colorado Crime Of Vehicular Assault 18-3-205
  • Colorado Assaults On Police Officers – Dangerous Laws 18-3-203 & 18-3-204
  • Can I Obtain A Colorado Police Officer’s Records? – The Law
  • Colorado Felony Crimes And The Death Of the Unborn As Victim
  • Understanding Self Defense And “Mutual Combat” Laws In Colorado
• Case Evaluation
• Location / Contact
• Site Map
• Links and Resources
  • The Colorado Rules Of Criminal Procedure

The Colorado Crime Of Murder In The Second Degree 18-3-103

To understand the Colorado Criminal Code and more specifically the charge or charges in the Complaint and Information or Grand Jury Indictment against you – you need TWO things.

I. You Will Need To Understand The Actual Statutory Crime With Which You Have Been Charged

– The statute, as of 2016, appears first on this page.

II. You Will Also Need To Understand How The Jury Or Judge Reads The Elements – ( a jury instruction “breakout” of the necessary parts or list of things that make up the crime)

– The Jury Instructions for most of the main forms of the crimes with which individuals are charged – appears after a reprint of the statute defining the crime.

 The Colorado Statutory Crime Of Murder In the Second Degree 18-3-103

 18-3-103. Murder in the second degree

(1)	A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if the person knowingly causes the death of a person.

(2)	Diminished responsibility due to self-induced intoxication is not a defense to murder in the second degree.

(2.5)

(Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1844, §12, effective July 1, 1996.)

(3)

(a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3), murder in the second degree is a class 2 felony. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), murder in the second degree is a class 3 felony where the act causing the death was performed upon a sudden heat of passion, caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended victim, affecting the defendant sufficiently to excite an irresistible passion in a reasonable person; but, if between the provocation and the killing there is an interval sufficient for the voice of reason and humanity to be heard, the killing is a class 2 felony.

(4)	A defendant convicted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be sentenced by the court in accordance with the provisions of section 18-1.3-406.

The Colorado Jury Instruction For The Crime of Murder In The Second Degree 18-3-103

MURDER IN THE SECOND DEGREE

The elements of the crime of murder in the second degree are:

1. That the defendant,

2. in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,

3. knowingly,

4. caused the death of another person.

[5. and that the defendant’s conduct was not legally authorized by the affirmative defense[s] in Instruction[s] ____.]

To enlarge the Colorado Felony Sentencing Chart Click once – then click again on the next page:

 

 

Other Articles of Interest:

• The Colorado Homicide – Murder Felony Crimes
• The Colorado Crime Of Murder In The First Degree 18-3-102
• The Colorado Crime Of Criminally Negligent Homicide 18-3-105
• The Colorado Crime of Manslaughter 18-3-104
• The Colorado Crime Of Second Degree Assault – 18-3-203