About Second Degree Murder

For second degree murder we look to the Illinois Compiled Statutes Annotated for the relevant law which is codified as 720 ILCS 5/9-2.

It reads:

720 ILCS 5/9-2

(720 ILCS 5/9‑2) (from Ch. 38, par. 9‑2)

            Sec. 9‑2. Second Degree Murder. (a) A person commits the offense of second degree murder when he commits the offense of first degree murder as defined in paragraphs (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of Section 9‑1 of this Code and either of the following mitigating factors are present:

            (1) At the time of the killing he is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the individual killed or another whom the offender endeavors to kill, but he negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed; or

            (2) At the time of the killing he believes the circumstances to be such that, if they existed, would justify or exonerate the killing under the principles stated in Article 7 of this Code, but his belief is unreasonable.

            (b) Serious provocation is conduct sufficient to excite an intense passion in a reasonable person.

            (c) When a defendant is on trial for first degree murder and evidence of either of the mitigating factors defined in subsection (a) of this Section has been presented, the burden of proof is on the defendant to prove either mitigating factor by a preponderance of the evidence before the defendant can be found guilty of second degree murder. However, the burden of proof remains on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of first degree murder and, when appropriately raised, the absence of circumstances at the time of the killing that would justify or exonerate the killing under the principles stated in Article 7 of this Code. In a jury trial for first degree murder in which evidence of either of the mitigating factors defined in subsection (a) of this Section has been presented and the defendant has requested that the jury be given the option of finding the defendant guilty of second degree murder, the jury must be instructed that it may not consider whether the defendant has met his burden of proof with regard to second degree murder until and unless it has first determined that the State has proven beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of first degree murder.

I have left out various portions of the statute which I felt were unnecessary. The full text of 720 ILCS 5/9-2 is available here.

The Elements of Second Degree Murder

To even consider a case of second degree murder, certain elements must be present. These are derived from the statute above. Points 1-3 are from the elements of first degree murder.

1.         Someone has to be killed by someone else who had no lawful justification (e.g., self-defense)

2.         The killer intended to kill or cause great bodily harm or knew that his actions would:

            a.         cause death to the victim or someone else

            b.         create a strong probability of death to the victim or another

3.         If you can demonstrate 1 and 2, then the aggravating factors, which can lead to a death sentence, include:

            a.         a killer age 18 or older

            b.         the killer was to receive anything of value, including money, for the killing

            c.         the killer killed based on a cold, calculated plan intended to take a life and the killer’s conduct created a reasonable expectation that the killing would occur

            d.         the killer intended to kill and involved extreme physical pain, motivated by an intent to prolong the misery of the victim

            e.         the victim was age 60 or more and the killing involved behavior indicative of wanton cruelty

            f.          the victim was disabled and the killer knew or should have known this

            g.         the killing was an act of terrorism

4.         There are mitigating factors present:

            a.         At the time of the killing, the killer is acting under a sudden and intense passion resulting from serious provocation by the individual killed or another whom the offender endeavors to kill, but he negligently or accidentally causes the death of the individual killed; or

            b.         At the time of the killing, the killer believes the circumstances to be such that, if they existed, would justify or exonerate the killing.

An outline of Illinois Criminal Law is available here. It appears to be a useful overview.