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Criminal Law

Unintentional Murder

Recall the statutes that opened this section. Many described murder as a killing done with malice aforethought. We've already seen that intent to kill is one way that malice aforethought can be satisfied. In this section, we examine other mental states that will also suffice. We will see that some accidental killings may also qualify as murder if the defendant's recklessness was so extreme that it is akin to intentional killing.