Toronto Homicide Lawyer: A Guide to Defending Homicide Charges
Introduction
If you’ve been charged with Homicide, you are facing the most serious criminal allegation in the Criminal Code of Canada. Accordingly, you are at risk of the longest potential jail sentence available in Canada.
In this Article, a description of the offence of Homicide offences is provided, along with potential defences which are commonly raised for these offences.
Contact a Toronto Murder Lawyer today to discuss your matter.
What is Homicide
A homicide is an allegation that you have illegally ended someone’s life. Homicide offences comprise the following:
- First degree murder
- Second degree murder
- Manslaughter
- Infanticide
What’s the Difference Between First Degree and Second Degree Murder
As a Toronto Murder Lawyer and Toronto Homicide Lawyer, if your client is facing a first degree murder charge, it is alleged that the murder was planned and deliberate. Second degree murder is a residual category, meaning that any murder that is not first falls automatically to second degree.
If a murder is not planned and deliberate, the Criminal Code provides certain specific contexts in which it is assumed that a murder becomes first degree, such as where a homicide occurs in relation to a police officer.
All murders involve the intentional killing of another person.
What is the Difference Between Murder and Manslaughter
While murder involves the intentional killing of another person, the charge of manslaughter suggests that there was no specific intent to kill. Instead, manslaughter involves two general situations:
- Where someone commits an unlawful act (such as an assault) that ultimately leads to the death of another person
- Where someone’s criminal negligence leads to the death of another person
While less serious than murder, manslaughter can still carry lengthy penitentiary jail sentences. Accordingly, before speaking to anyone about your case, particularly the police, you should consult with a Toronto Murder Lawyer or a Toronto Homicide Lawyer.
What is Infanticide
Section 233 of the Criminal Code of Canada enacts the offence of Infanticide, which states that a female commits this crime if she causes the death of her newborn child by a wilful act or omission.
What is the Sentence for Murder
If you’ve been found guilty of murder, you will face an automatic life sentence for the crime. A significant distinction in law relates to whether your conviction relates to first or second degree murder:
- First degree murder leads to parole ineligibility for at least 25 years
- Second degree murder leads to parole ineligibility for at least 10 years (a Judge can increase it to 25 years in law)
A Murder Lawyer in Toronto, or a Toronto Homicide Lawyer, will make best efforts to protect your rights during the court process, and to reduce the risk of a conviction. If a conviction cannot be avoided, a lawyer will make best efforts to try and have the conviction registered as second degree murder in order to permit you to have parole eligibility at the earliest opportunity (of 10 years in jail).
Potential Defences to Murder and Manslaughter
There are a number of potential defences one can raise to these serious criminal charges. Evaluate which defence(s) might be available to you with a Toronto Murder Lawyer.
- Automatism – the defence of automatism is a complete defence which, if accepted, suggests that an individual’s actions were not voluntary
- Drunkeness – the defence of drunkenness is available for specific crimes of specific intent, such as murder, and may serve to negate the “intent to kill”.
- Mental Disorder – the defence of mental disorder may be raised for individuals who suffer “a disease of the mind” and that disease rendered them unable to appreciate right from wrong or appreciate the nature and quality of their actions. A successful mental disorder defences ultimately leads to a finding of “not criminally responsible’ as opposed to “not guilty”
- Third Party Suspect – although not strictly a defence, per se, this is a defence strategy through which the “finger” is pointed at an alternative suspect, as opposed to you, who committed the crime. If accepted, this would mean that the Crown has failed to prove the offence against you beyond a reasonable doubt.
Andrew Captan – Toronto Murder Lawyer | Toronto Homicide Lawyer
Contact Andrew Captan today to discuss your homicide charge. Mr Captan has been practicing for over 12 years exclusively in the area of criminal defence. By retaining his firm, you will receive the following:
- Direct access to up to two senior lawyers on your homicide file, without any involvement of a “junior” or “articling student”
- Two seasoned criminal lawyers working together at the trial stage of your case (if your case is private and not legal aid)
- Jail visits to discuss the case to maintain confidentiality
- Consistent updates regarding your case where, at no stage, will you be left in the dark
- An honest approach to your case, with a legal opinion as to your best course of action, whether it be a trial or plea.
A Toronto Murder Lawyer can be reached at (647) 878 – 6355, andrew@captanlaw.com or the following WEBSITE.
