Criminal Homicide is classified as follows:

A First-degree Murder conviction carries either a death sentence or a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Murder of the first degree is an intentional killing. An intentional killing is defined as killing by lying in wait, or by any other kind of willful, deliberate and premeditated killing. Premeditation can be formed in a second.

Murder of the second-degree is commonly called “felony murder”. Second-degree Murder occurs when a homicide happens during the commission of a felony. The Second-degree Murder statute applies to either principals or an accomplice. Murder of the second degree does not require any premeditation. You can be convicted of Second-degree Murder even though you did not commit the homicide. If you participated in the commission of a felony and a person died you can be charged with “felony murder”. A person convicted of felony-murder can be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Third-degree Murder is for all other kinds of murder in Pennsylvania. A Third-degree Murder occurs when one person kills another but without deliberation or premeditation and not during the commission of a felony. The crime of Third-degree murder is a felony of the first degree and punishable by up to forty years in prison.

Voluntary Manslaughter occurs when a person kills another intentionally or knowingly, under a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation by the victim, and without legal justification. Voluntary Manslaughter is a first-degree felony that is punishable by a maximum of ten to twenty years of prison. On the other hand, if a person kills another unintentionally while performing a reckless or grossly negligent act, then that person has committed Involuntary Manslaughter. Involuntary Manslaughter is generally a first-degree misdemeanor that has a maximum penalty of five years.