Atlanta Murder Defense Lawyer

Finding yourself at the wrong end of a murder charge is a frightening prospect – particularly if this is your first experience of the criminal justice system – and the stakes of these type of criminal cases are incredibly high. It is crucial that you have access to an experienced, qualified criminal lawyer in Atlanta, GA, who can help you mount the best possible criminal defense for your needs.

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Murder Laws In Atlanta, GA

The first thing you need to do when you find yourself facing criminal charges of murder is to contact an experienced criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible – a good criminal defense can literally be the difference between freedom and life in jail – and in some cases, even the death penalty.

According to Atlanta legislation, murder is defined as being “the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought.” This means that you must have acted with intent to kill before committing the crime. If you were provoked into attacking your victim, then you cannot be held responsible for their death, and many criminal defense attorneys will focus on proving this to help you go free.

What Are The Defenses To Murder?

Remember, the law states that you are innocent until proven guilty, and there are several criminal defense options available to people accused of murder. These include:

Self-Defense

If you believe that you had no choice but to defend yourself against your attacker, then you might be able to argue self-defense. However, you must prove that you did everything in your power to avoid violence, and will usually have to plead guilty – your trial lawyers will be able to advise you on the best defense strategies in these cases.

Justifiable Homicide

If you killed someone while defending yourself from serious bodily harm, then you would likely be able to claim justifiable homicide. For example, if you shot someone who was trying to shoot you, then this could be used as a reasonable defense; an experienced criminal defense attorney will be able to support you through criminal allegations of this nature.

Voluntary Manslaughter

This is a lesser form of homicide than murder; the charge of voluntary manslaughter involves the intentional killing of another person without malice. As such, these criminal defense cases carry a lower punishment, and a good criminal defense lawyer may try to get charges reduced.

Involuntary Manslaughter

You can also be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter if you unintentionally caused the death of another person. This is usually considered a non-violent offense, so it does not carry the same penalties as murder. In some cases, a good criminal defense lawyer may try to get murder charges reduced to this.

When you are arrested for murder, your criminal defense lawyers will work hard to protect your rights and ensure that you receive a fair trial. They will also try to negotiate a favorable plea bargain, which can reduce the severity of your sentence or charge.

Your Next Steps

Murder is a serious offense, and needs to be handled by a top legal team – and our criminal defense law firm in Atlanta, GA are the one to choose. Our team of skilled, experienced criminal defense attorneys will be able to advise you on the best next steps – we will be by your side in the criminal court, and offer the legal representation that you need to protect your liberty against this extremely serious charge.