§ 1111. — Murder.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC1111]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 51--HOMICIDE
Sec. 1111. Murder
(a) Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice
aforethought. Every murder perpetrated by poison, lying in wait, or any
other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing;
or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any
arson, escape, murder, kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage,
aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, burglary, or robbery; or
perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to
effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed, is
murder in the first degree.
Any other murder is murder in the second degree.
(b) Within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the
United States,
Whoever is guilty of murder in the first degree shall be punished by
death or by imprisonment for life;
Whoever is guilty of murder in the second degree, shall be
imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 756; Pub. L. 98-473, title II,
Sec. 1004, Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2138; Pub. L. 99-646, Sec. 87(c)(4),
Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3623; Pub. L. 99-654, Sec. 3(a)(4), Nov. 14,
1986, 100 Stat. 3663; Pub. L. 100-690, title VII, Sec. 7025, Nov. 18,
1988, 102 Stat. 4397; Pub. L. 103-322, title VI, Sec. 60003(a)(4), Sept.
13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1969.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 452, 454, 567 (Mar. 4,
1909, ch. 321, Secs. 273, 275, 330, 35 Stat. 1143, 1152).
Section consolidates the punishment provision of sections 454 and
567 of title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., with section 452 of title 18, U.S.C.,
1940 ed.
The provision of said section 454 for the death penalty for first
degree murder was consolidated with section 567 of said title 18, by
adding the words ``unless the jury qualifies its verdict by adding
thereto `without capital punishment' in which event he shall be
sentenced to imprisonment for life''.
The punishment for second degree murder was changed and the phrase
``for any term of years or for life'' was substituted for the words
``not less than ten years and may be imprisoned for life''. This change
conforms to a uniform policy of omitting the minimum punishment.
Said section 567 was not included in section 2031 of this title
since the rewritten punishment provision for rape removes the necessity
for a qualified verdict.
The special maritime and territorial jurisdiction provision was
added in view of definitive section 7 of this title.
Amendments
1994--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-322 amended second par. generally.
Prior to amendment, second par. read as follows: ``Whoever is guilty of
murder in the first degree, shall suffer death unless the jury qualifies
its verdict by adding thereto `without capital punishment', in which
event he shall be sentenced to imprisonment for life;''.
1988--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100-690 inserted a comma after ``arson''.
1986--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 99-646 and Pub. L. 99-654 amended subsec.
(a) identically, substituting ``aggravated sexual abuse or sexual
abuse'' for ``, rape''.
1984--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98-473 inserted ``escape, murder,
kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage,'' after ``arson''.
Effective Date of 1986 Amendments
Amendments by Pub. L. 99-646 and Pub. L. 99-654 effective
respectively 30 days after Nov. 10, 1986, and 30 days after Nov. 14,
1986, see section 87(e) of Pub. L. 99-646 and section 4 of Pub. L. 99-
654, set out as an Effective Date note under section 2241 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 36, 115, 351, 924, 930,
1114, 1116, 1117, 1118, 1119, 1120, 1121, 1503, 1512, 1513, 1751, 1956,
2332, 3559, 5032 of this title; title 7 section 2146; title 15 section
1825; title 21 sections 461, 675, 1041; title 28 section 540B; title 42
sections 671, 2283, 5106a, 14135a; title 49 section 46506.
