Of all crimes presented in society today, a murder charge is one of the most severe charges you are likely to face in your lifetime. This severity is primarily due to the hefty penalties first-degree murder can bring, including several years to life in prison, steep fines, or death.
Being accused of murder can also lead to serious, long-lasting social consequences to the accused, their families, and their friends, even without a conviction.

Suppose you or your loved one gets accused of murder. In that case, you should hire an experienced criminal lawyer to argue that you are not guilty of first-degree murder. Here are four common defenses a criminal attorney may use to win a murder case.

1. Mistaken Identity
In some circumstances, innocent people get charged with crimes they did not commit due to the mistaken identity of the perpetrator. In most criminal cases, law enforcement agencies will rely on eyewitness identification of a suspect.

While eyewitnesses are honest people trying to do their best to help serve justice, human memory can be more fallible than most realize, leading to witnesses misidentifying individuals due to their resemblance to the actual perpetrator.

Some factors that lead to mistaken identity include:

• Misidentification by a lineup or photo array
• Malicious accusations
• Poor visibility
• Faulty memory

A criminal defense attorney can argue that the prosecution has charged the wrong person with murder if they can prove that you were not in the area where the murder occurred at the time the murder happened.

2. Self-Defense
One universally accepted principle is that people can use equal force to protect themselves or their loved ones when attacked with life-threatening force. Although the legal system discourages the use of deadly force against others, you might use deadly force to protect yourself as you attempt to retreat or avoid danger.

In a court of law, you must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the threat against you or your loved ones was imminent for your response to have been permissible. But, perhaps, more importantly, your attorney will prove that you did not instigate the threatening situation and that there was reasonable fear of death or severe bodily harm.

3. Insanity
The defense of insanity is available for many crimes, and most states recognize this plea as a defense to a murder charge. When an insanity defense is employed, it means that the defendant is suffering from diminished mental responsibility, has an abnormality of mental functioning from a recognized medical condition, or is substantially impaired to realize that the act is wrong.

A criminal attorney may employ the insanity defense to claim the accused is not criminally responsible for their actions, even if the said act can be considered a crime under different circumstances.

4. Unavoidable Accident

A misfortune or unavoidable accident serves as a legal defense to murder if you can prove that:

• You had no criminal intent to harm the other person
• Your actions were not because of culpable negligence
•  You were acting according to the law at the time

To be absolved of murder charges, the lack of intent is vital because a murder conviction must illustrate malice or a plot to commit the crime intentionally.

That said, you cannot rely on a defense of an unavoidable accident for a deliberate act that resulted in the death of another person, even if their death was not the intended eventual result.

The stakes are high when you are of facing a murder charge. One of your top priorities when facing a murder charge should be enlisting a criminal defense attorney as quickly as possible for the best legal defense. Here at The Kanehl Law Firm PLLC, we will tirelessly craft a defense against your murder charge to gain you the best possible outcome. Contact us now to get started.