Murder / Homicide
Murder and Homicide Defense Lawyer in Philadelphia, PA
There is no more serious offense one can be charged with than murdering another human being. If convicted of First Degree Murder, the sentence is life in jail, sometimes even death. If you or a loved one has been arrested for Murder, Manslaughter or a Homicide offense, call the lawyers at Reynolds Firm, LLC.
Reynolds Firm, LLC is a boutique criminal defense law firm. Guided by former Federal and state prosecutor Coley O. Reynolds, our attorneys are the right team to defend you or your loved one if charged with Murder, Manslaughter or any Homicide offense. Coley O. Reynolds has over 24 of experience in litigating Murder, Manslaughter and Homicide cases. He is a highly respected attorney with a proven and consistent track record of “Not Guilty” verdicts. He is also a certified Pennsylvania Death Penalty attorney. When he was the Supervising Attorney in charge of the Montgomery County Investigating Grand Jury, he worked hand in hand with homicide detectives and other prosecutors to investigate and build the government’s case. Mr. Reynolds may have left his role as a prosecutor, but he took with him the knowledge of the strategies police and prosecutors use to build and prosecute murder cases.
At Reynolds Firm LLC, we conduct our own independent investigation of your case. We believe in challenging the prosecution at each stage, beginning with the methods used by investigators to gather evidence to their theories of intent and premeditation. We litigate motions to keep out evidence, statements and identifications. We break down the statements of alleged witnesses and challenge the so-called physical evidence of the Commonwealth, such as DNA, fingerprints and ballistic evidence. We are highly skilled at attacking eyewitness testimony.
If you are charged with murder or homicide, do not hesitate. Hire an experienced knowledgeable and aggressive attorney, like Coley O. Reynolds, to protect you or your loved one.
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Defenses in Murder Cases
Actual Innocence:
Just because you have been arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter or homicide, doesn’t mean the prosecution can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. In every criminal case, the prosecution is required to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know how to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the judge or jury.
Mistaken Identification:
A frequent source of arrests of innocent persons, mistaken identification has taken the national stage recently as many high profile cases have been in the media. There are many ways that misidentification can happen, such as a suggestive photo array or faulty witness memory. In either case, it is important that your attorney is familiar with defending clients who are the victim of mistaken identity.
Fabrication:
An alleged witness with a bias against a person has a motive to make up a story to tell the police. Often these witnesses give statements that are the key to the prosecution. Attacking the “Lying Witness” with aggressive cross-examination is necessary to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial. It is important to hire an attorney experienced in cross-examining the “Lying Witness.”
False Confession:
Unfortunately, innocent people can and have confessed to crimes they did not commit. These confessions can be the result of law enforcement tactics during questioning. A child, a person with a diminished mental capacity or someone who speaks a different language may unwittingly give a false confession. Additionally, police tactics during an interrogation can coerce or “break” someone into giving a false confession.
Lack of Intent:
Every crime requires a level of intent in order to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the government fails to prove that required level of intent, then their case fails. There are several defense theories when lack of intent is at issue. Some of them are as follows:
Diminished Mental Capacity:
The defense of Diminished Mental Capacity is a mental health defense available when a person has a mental defect and their cognitive abilities of deliberation and premeditation are so compromised they are unable to formulate the specific intent to kill. The defense is only available in First-Degree Murder cases and, if proven, would reduce the charges to Third-Degree Murder.
Accident or Misadventure:
An accidental death can be a legitimate defense if it can be shown that a defendant lacked the necessary criminal intent prior to someone’s death.
Voluntary Intoxication:
Neither voluntary intoxication nor voluntary drugged condition is a defense to any criminal charge in Pennsylvania. However, such a condition can serve as the basis for arguing that the crime of First-Degree Murder be reduced to a lesser degree since the requisite specific intent may be lacking.
Involuntary Intoxication:
Unlike voluntary intoxication, where the voluntary ingestion of intoxicants like alcohol and drugs cannot serve as a defense, involuntary intoxication can serve as a defense if it can be proven the defendant was tricked or forced into ingesting drugs or alcohol.
Alibi:
Alibi is a defense to any crime which, when properly established, proves the defendant was somewhere other than the scene of the crime. The Alibi defense is established through the use of witness testimony and may be corroborated through historical cell phone location data or tracking. An attorney experienced in presenting this defense is important to establish an iron clad Alibi defense.
Insanity:
To successfully assert a legal insanity defense, a defendant must show that, at the time of the commission of the offense, he was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if the actor did know the quality of the act, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong. In other words, a person is legally insane if at the time of committing an alleged crime that person is, as the result of mental disease or defect, either incapable of knowing what he or she is doing, or that person does know what he or she is doing, is incapable of judging that it is wrong. This is a very technical defense governed by very specific case law requiring an attorney experienced in this defense for a successful presentation.
Justification Defenses:
Justification defenses argue to the judge or jury that even though an act, such as murder, occurred, there were circumstances that existed that justify the taking of human life. Some of these justifications are as follows:
Self-Defense/Defense of Other:
Self-Defense in Pennsylvania is a legal justification. Deadly force is permitted when the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself or another against imminent death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force. This area of the law is complicated and very dependent upon the facts of the case as there are several exceptions to the use of force. The attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know this area of the law and have achieved not guilty verdicts in murder prosecutions by successfully arguing self-defense.
Castle Doctrine:
The Castle Doctrine, commonly known as the “Stand Your Ground” defense protects a homeowner who is in their house and reasonably believes their life is in danger, or that they may imminently suffer serious body injury. While every case depends upon the specific facts, the Castle Doctrine could be legal justification for the use of deadly force in such circumstances. If someone broke into your home and you were in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death, the attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know how to win your case.
Battered Woman Syndrome:
Psychiatric testimony has long been held to be admissible to show that a defendant had a real fear that he or she is in danger of imminent death or serious bodily injury. Evidence of Battered Woman Syndrome is admissible in a homicide trial as probative evidence of the defendant’s state of mind as it relates to a theory of self-defense.As with any self-defense argument, convincing the jury that the accused had a real fear of death or serious bodily injury is key. This defense, as with any self-defense claim, is highly fact dependent and requires an experienced attorney to argue to the judge or jury.
Duress/Coercion:
While duress is not a justification for committing a crime, it can serve as a defense to any crime. If a person is coerced to commit a crime by the use of, or a threat to use, unlawful force against him or another person and if a person of reasonable firmness in this situation would have been unable to resist, then this defense is available This defense is extremely limited in its application and is a very specific area of the law requiring an extremely skilled and knowledgeable attorney to properly present the evidence and argue for an acquittal.
Just because you have been arrested and charged with murder, manslaughter or homicide, doesn’t mean the prosecution can prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. In every criminal case, the prosecution is required to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know how to raise reasonable doubt in the minds of the judge or jury.
A frequent source of arrests of innocent persons, mistaken identification has taken the national stage recently as many high profile cases have been in the media. There are many ways that misidentification can happen, such as a suggestive photo array or faulty witness memory. In either case, it is important that your attorney is familiar with defending clients who are the victim of mistaken identity.
An alleged witness with a bias against a person has a motive to make up a story to tell the police. Often these witnesses give statements that are the key to the prosecution. Attacking the “Lying Witness” with aggressive cross-examination is necessary to protect the accused’s right to a fair trial. It is important to hire an attorney experienced in cross-examining the “Lying Witness.”
Unfortunately, innocent people can and have confessed to crimes they did not commit. These confessions can be the result of law enforcement tactics during questioning. A child, a person with a diminished mental capacity or someone who speaks a different language may unwittingly give a false confession. Additionally, police tactics during an interrogation can coerce or “break” someone into giving a false confession.
Every crime requires a level of intent in order to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If the government fails to prove that required level of intent, then their case fails. There are several defense theories when lack of intent is at issue. Some of them are as follows:
The defense of Diminished Mental Capacity is a mental health defense available when a person has a mental defect and their cognitive abilities of deliberation and premeditation are so compromised they are unable to formulate the specific intent to kill. The defense is only available in First-Degree Murder cases and, if proven, would reduce the charges to Third-Degree Murder.
An accidental death can be a legitimate defense if it can be shown that a defendant lacked the necessary criminal intent prior to someone’s death.
Neither voluntary intoxication nor voluntary drugged condition is a defense to any criminal charge in Pennsylvania. However, such a condition can serve as the basis for arguing that the crime of First-Degree Murder be reduced to a lesser degree since the requisite specific intent may be lacking.
Unlike voluntary intoxication, where the voluntary ingestion of intoxicants like alcohol and drugs cannot serve as a defense, involuntary intoxication can serve as a defense if it can be proven the defendant was tricked or forced into ingesting drugs or alcohol.
Alibi is a defense to any crime which, when properly established, proves the defendant was somewhere other than the scene of the crime. The Alibi defense is established through the use of witness testimony and may be corroborated through historical cell phone location data or tracking. An attorney experienced in presenting this defense is important to establish an iron clad Alibi defense.
To successfully assert a legal insanity defense, a defendant must show that, at the time of the commission of the offense, he was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if the actor did know the quality of the act, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong. In other words, a person is legally insane if at the time of committing an alleged crime that person is, as the result of mental disease or defect, either incapable of knowing what he or she is doing, or that person does know what he or she is doing, is incapable of judging that it is wrong. This is a very technical defense governed by very specific case law requiring an attorney experienced in this defense for a successful presentation.
Justification defenses argue to the judge or jury that even though an act, such as murder, occurred, there were circumstances that existed that justify the taking of human life. Some of these justifications are as follows:
Self-Defense in Pennsylvania is a legal justification. Deadly force is permitted when the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself or another against imminent death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force. This area of the law is complicated and very dependent upon the facts of the case as there are several exceptions to the use of force. The attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know this area of the law and have achieved not guilty verdicts in murder prosecutions by successfully arguing self-defense.
The Castle Doctrine, commonly known as the “Stand Your Ground” defense protects a homeowner who is in their house and reasonably believes their life is in danger, or that they may imminently suffer serious body injury. While every case depends upon the specific facts, the Castle Doctrine could be legal justification for the use of deadly force in such circumstances. If someone broke into your home and you were in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death, the attorneys at Reynolds Firm, LLC know how to win your case.
Psychiatric testimony has long been held to be admissible to show that a defendant had a real fear that he or she is in danger of imminent death or serious bodily injury. Evidence of Battered Woman Syndrome is admissible in a homicide trial as probative evidence of the defendant’s state of mind as it relates to a theory of self-defense.As with any self-defense argument, convincing the jury that the accused had a real fear of death or serious bodily injury is key. This defense, as with any self-defense claim, is highly fact dependent and requires an experienced attorney to argue to the judge or jury.
While duress is not a justification for committing a crime, it can serve as a defense to any crime. If a person is coerced to commit a crime by the use of, or a threat to use, unlawful force against him or another person and if a person of reasonable firmness in this situation would have been unable to resist, then this defense is available This defense is extremely limited in its application and is a very specific area of the law requiring an extremely skilled and knowledgeable attorney to properly present the evidence and argue for an acquittal.
Murder Offenses and Punishment
§ 2501. Criminal Homicide: A person is guilty of criminal homicide if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death of another human being. Criminal homicide shall be classified as murder, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter.
§ 2502(a) Murder of the First Degree: A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the First Degree when it is committed by an intentional killing.
The punishment for a conviction of murder of the First Degree is a mandatory minimum of life imprisonment. Further, the Commonwealth can seek the death penalty in cases of First Degree murder. There are exceptions to the above mandatory sentences depending on the age of the accused:
- If the accused is 15 years old to 17 years old, the mandatory minimum is 35 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment.
- If the accused is under 15 years of age, the mandatory minimum is 25 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment.
§ 2502(b) Murder of the Second Degree: A criminal homicide constitutes murder of the Second Degree when it is committed while defendant was engaged as a principal or an accomplice in the perpetration of a felony.
The punishment for a conviction of murder of the Second Degree is a mandatory minimum of life imprisonment. There are exceptions to the above depending on the age of the accused:
- If the accused is 15 years old to 17 years old, the mandatory minimum is 30 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment.
- If the accused is under 15 years of age, the mandatory minimum is 20 years up to a maximum of life imprisonment.
§ 2502(c) Murder of the Third Degree: All other kinds of murder shall be murder of the Third Degree. Murder of the Third Degree is a felony of the first degree.
The maximum sentence for a conviction of Murder of the Third Degree is forty years imprisonment.
§ 2503. Voluntary Manslaughter: A person who kills an individual without lawful justification commits voluntary manslaughter if at the time of the killing he is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by:
(1) the individual killed; or
(2) another whom the actor endeavors to kill, but he negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed.
Unreasonable Belief Killing Justifiable: A person who intentionally or knowingly kills an individual commits voluntary manslaughter if at the time of the killing he believes the circumstances to be such that, if they existed, would justify the killing under Chapter 5 of this title (relating to general principles of justification), but his belief is unreasonable.
Voluntary manslaughter is a felony of the first degree. The maximum sentence for a conviction of Voluntary Manslaughter is twenty years imprisonment.
§ 2504. Involuntary Manslaughter: A person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of the doing of an unlawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, or the doing of a lawful act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, he causes the death of another person.
Involuntary manslaughter is a misdemeanor of the first degree. Where the victim is under 12 years of age and is in the care, custody or control of the person who caused the death, involuntary manslaughter is a felony of the second degree. The maximum sentence for a conviction of Involuntary Manslaughter is five years imprisonment, unless the victim was under 12 years of age and is in the care, custody or control of the person who caused the death, then the maximum sentence is ten years.
§ 3735. Homicide by Vehicle While Driving Under Influence: A person is guilty of Homicide by Vehicle While Driving Under Influence if that person unintentionally causes the death of another person as the result of driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance and who is also convicted of driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance.
The punishment for a conviction of Homicide by Vehicle includes a mandatory minimum of 3 years imprisonment for each victim. If the defendant has a prior DUI conviction, ARD or other similar disposition, then the mandatory minimum is 5 years, with consecutive 5-year sentences for each victim.If the person has at least two prior DUI convictions, ARDs or other similar dispositions, then the mandatory minimum is 7 years, with consecutive 7-year sentences for each victim.
§ 5502.1. Homicide by Watercraft While Operating Under Influence: Any person who unintentionally causes the death of another person as the direct result of a violation of section 5502 (relating to operating watercraft under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) and who is convicted of violating section 5502 commits a felony of the second degree when the violation is the cause of death. The sentencing court shall order the person to serve a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than three years. A consecutive three-year term of imprisonment shall be imposed for each victim whose death is the result of a violation of section 5502.
§ 2506. Drug Delivery Resulting in Death: A person commits a felony of the first degree if the person intentionally administers, dispenses, delivers, gives, prescribes, sells or distributes any controlled substance or counterfeit controlled substance in violation of section 13(a)(14) or (30) of the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, and another person dies as a result of using the substance.
A person convicted under subsection (a) shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which shall be fixed by the court at not more than 40 years.
(2) another whom the actor endeavors to kill, but he negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed.
