Representation in Murder Cases

murder

Murder is a gravely serious criminal charge that carries very significant consequences. An Experienced attorney can help you fight these charges.

At Pearson & Paris, we have more than 22 years of legal experience that we will use in your defense. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior felony prosecutor who knows how prosecutors handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiation to courtroom battles.

Whether in the Louisville area or anywhere in Kentucky, murder commonly occurs in the following ways: (1) with intent to cause the death of another person, the defendant causes the death of such person or of a third person or (2) under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, the defendant wantonly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person and thereby causes the death of another person. KRS § 507.020. An example is this latter category would be for a person to detonate a bomb in a crowd of people.

Possible Consequences for Murder

Murder is a capital offense. When a person is convicted of a capital offense, he shall have his punishment fixed (1) at death, (2) at a term of imprisonment for life without the benefit of probation or parole, (3) at a term of imprisonment for life without the benefit of probation or parole until he has served a minimum of 25 years of his sentence, (4) at a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, or (5) to a term of not less than 20 years nor more than 50 years. KRS § 532.030.

Possible Defenses for Murder

In the case of intentional murder, the defense may center on the fact that the person did not intend to kill anyone and that the resulting death was an accident, which would lead to a conviction for a lesser offense. It may also be possible to demonstrate that the killing occurred in self-defense.

Homicide cases require a comprehensive defense approach that may require the assistance of other professionals in a variety of disciplines to analyze all aspects of the case. In mounting a strong defense we use experts in the areas of gunshot residue (GSR), firearms, tool marks, foot prints, tire marks, crime scene investigation, police procedure, serology, DNA, emergency medicine, psychiatry, psychology, human reaction, firearms, tool marks, foot prints, tire marks, crime scene investigations and police procedure.

Other defenses may apply as well. This includes analyzing any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.

It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced lawyer to defend you in a murder case in Louisville, Jefferson County, or across Kentucky.

Call us at 502-688-5200 in the Greater Louisville area and all of Kentucky.

Contact Our Firm in La Grange, Kentucky for an initial consultation.

For an initial consultation with a Louisville criminal law attorney, contact Pearson & Paris. We represent clients throughout Trimble, Henry, Oldham, Jefferson, Shelby, and Spencer counties in such cities as Louisville, St. Matthews, Lyndon, Prospect, Anchorage, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Shively, Crestwood, Goshen, Buckner, La Grange, Simpsonville, Shelbyville, Mt. Washington and Shepherdsville.