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Criminal Law • Murder
CRIMLAW#003
Legal Definition
Malice aforethought is the mental state required for murder, and consists of either (1) intent to kill; (2) intent to inflict great bodily harm; (3) reckless indifference to a known high risk of death (i.e., a depraved heart); or (4) under the Felony Murder Rule.
Plain English Explanation
When someone dies because the action of another, it is categorized as a homicide. Society has deemed homicides so uniquely bad that there is an entire spectrum that is applied to figure out how to rank them. In other words, killing someone is bad, but killing someone on purpose is more bad, and killing someone on purpose after having planned it out coldly and cruelly is most bad.
"Malice aforethought" is what turns "someone killed someone" into "someone murdered someone."
"Malice aforethought" is what turns "someone killed someone" into "someone murdered someone."
Related Concepts
What are the five inherently dangerous felonies that trigger the Felony Murder Rule?
What is a homicide?
What is deliberation?
What is imperfect self-defense?
What is involuntary manslaughter?
What is murder?
What is premeditation?
What is the agency theory of the Felony Murder Rule?
What is the Felony Murder Rule?
What is the proximate cause theory of the Felony Murder Rule?
What is voluntary manslaughter and what is the test used to determine it?
