The most serious crime that anyone can be accused of is murder, and it is one that cannot be taken lightly. Attempted murder is defined as a crime where someone was attacked with the intention of their life being taken, but the victim survived in spite of it. This, too, is a very serious charge, and if you believe that you have been falsely accused of such a heinous act, you then need to mount the best defense possible to defend your own life against such charges. Your first step should be to hire the best criminal lawyer you can find.
Degrees of Murder
In cases of attempted murder, it is treated the same as if you actually did murder someone, the only difference is the penalty involved. If the victim dies because of their injuries at a later time, you could still be charged with felony murder or manslaughter, unless you can prove you had absolutely nothing to do with the attack. Under law, there are several degrees of murder defined, and each one has their own particular defense strategy to go with them. This is why it is essential that you retain the best criminal attorney to defend your side.
First degree murder is defined as being intentional and premeditated, meaning that you planned to commit such an act.
Second degree murder is considered to be unplanned, and done in the heat of passion, or through an act where it can be proven that you did not care about the lives of others involved.
Manslaughter is a lesser charge than second degree, with the same conditions, but can be determined to be either voluntary, which means you knew the risk to another’s life or involuntary, which means you had no control over the actions leading up to the other person dying.
Dealing with the Charges
As we said earlier, being charged with attempted murder means that the prosecuting attorney believes that you attacked the victim with the intent to kill them, but against all odds, the victim survived. You would not have been charged, false or otherwise, unless a witness or evidence gathered by the police places you at the scene of the attack. The surviving victim may have identified you as their attacker, or an outside, unknown witness may have identified you as the attacker. Evidence gathered at the scene may have supplied proof that you were the attacker. However they came about the belief that you are guilty, this is not a charge that is bantered about lightly by the police, or the legal system, so it would be in your best interest to cooperate fully with them when charged and arrested.
Unlike other criminal charges, you may not have the option of providing bail money to be released. If bail is set, it may be at an amount that would be impossible for the average citizen to arrange. If this happens, accept it and make sure that you can communicate with your lawyer as needed. Very often, there will be a formal arraignment held, in order to be certain that the state has enough evidence gathered to bond you over to a trial. Your lawyer can then appeal at that time for bail to be set, so that you and he can have time to mount a proper defense.
Defending the charge
Any kind of murder charge can be difficult to defend against, and it will take an exceptionally skilled defense attorney to mount a successful defense. Above all else, be honest with your attorney, and give him as much detail as you can about the attack in question. When armed with the facts, mounting the right defense becomes that much easier to do.
The most common defenses against the charge of attempted murder include self-defense, insufficient evidence, factual innocence, and the insanity plea. Self-defense means that you were defending yourself against an attack made upon you by the victim. Insufficient evidence means that the prosecution does not have enough evidence to convict you. Factual innocence means providing witnesses that will testify that you had nothing to do with the attack, and insanity means that you were not in full control at the time of the attack.