Also known as: in cold blood · cold-blooded · premeditation · malice aforethought
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The mental state accompanying a willful and premeditated homicide. This state exists when the defendant forms the intent to kill or to inflict grievous bodily harm, acts with extreme recklessness demonstrating a depraved heart, or intends to commit a felony, and then carries out the killing without sudden passion or adequate provocation.
Caleb Chang learned that Colin Chambers had reported him to their employer. Chang waited two days, purchased a handgun, and then approached Chambers at a remote parking lot. Chang fired a single shot into Chambers's chest. The deliberate timing and weapon choice established that the killing occurred in cold blood.
Corinne Cho discovered that Cameron Cruz had reported her drinking on duty. Cho locked Cruz inside an unventilated storage locker during a storm and ignored his pleas for over an hour. Cruz died from suffocation. The sustained decision to maintain the confinement showed that the killing was committed in cold blood.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Charles Cunningham confronted Curtis Cannon over an alleged plagiarism claim. Cunningham locked the laboratory door, seized an extension cord, and applied it to Cannon's neck for several minutes until Cannon became limp. The prolonged application of force to a vital area demonstrated that the homicide occurred in cold blood.
Cameron Cruz accused Caleb Chang of shoplifting and demanded he empty his pockets. When Chang ran, Cruz drew a handgun and fired once at Chang's chest from close range. The intentional use of a deadly weapon directed at a vital part of the body permitted the inference that the killing was done in cold blood.
Colin Chambers tackled Corinne Cho after suspecting theft. Chambers then repeatedly stomped on Cho's chest while she lay on the floor and cried out. The continued blows to a vital area after the victim was subdued established that the killing occurred in cold blood.
A seventeen-year-old offender planned the murder of a victim for several weeks and then carried out the killing without any sudden provocation. The extended period of reflection and the absence of heat of passion confirmed that the homicide was committed in cold blood.
Acting in cold blood requires a formed intent to kill or cause grievous harm followed by a deliberate execution of the killing. Heat of passion requires adequate provocation that would inflame an ordinary person, actual provocation of the defendant, and the absence of a reasonable cooling-off period.
Supporting sources
Yes. When a defendant intentionally uses a deadly weapon aimed at a vital part of the victim's body, the factfinder may infer an intent to kill that satisfies the mental state for a killing in cold blood.
Yes. Extreme recklessness demonstrating a depraved, abandoned, and malignant heart constitutes implied malice and supports a conviction for a killing committed in cold blood even without a specific intent to kill.
The mental states are an intent to kill, an intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, extreme recklessness showing a depraved heart, or an intent to commit a felony under the felony-murder rule.
…used that testimony to "humanize" respondent, to counteract the impression conveyed by the trial that he was little more than a cold-blooded killer. Had this evidence been admitted, respondent argues, his chances of obtaining a life sentence would have been significantly better. Measured against the standards outlined above,…