Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Re: Murder

Thank you for your posting.

California does not have "third degree murder". Some other states, such as Minnesota and Pennsylvania, do, however.

Under California law, second degree murder is the general murder statute. If special circumstances exist, a prosecutor may file for first degree murder, which elevates the crime to be eligible for the death penalty. The prosecutor may also charge, or the defense may argue, to reduce from second degree murder to manslaughter, which is a lesser degree (but is not called third degree murder), and is normally based upon a "heat of passion" or other emotional killing.