Also known as: depraved heart murder · depraved heart · extreme recklessness murder
Written by attorneys — see sources below.
An unlawful killing of another human being committed with malice aforethought shown by extreme recklessness demonstrating a depraved heart. The conduct creates a very high degree of risk of death or serious bodily injury that a reasonable person would realize, accompanied by indifference to human life.
Damian Decker fires multiple shots from a rooftop into a busy street festival to scare off rivals. One bullet strikes and kills a bystander. The high degree of risk to many lives and Decker's indifference to that risk establish the mental state for depraved-heart murder rather than the lower threshold for involuntary manslaughter.
Diego Duarte leads police on a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood at night while intoxicated. He ignores stop signs and weaves through traffic at over one hundred miles per hour. When his car strikes and kills a pedestrian, the extreme recklessness and disregard for human life support a depraved-heart murder conviction.
On August 6, 1975, defendant Francis Aaron and his cousin Thomas St. Onge went to the home of Aaron's estranged wife Myra in Jackson, Michigan. Aaron was armed with a .22 caliber rifle and intended to frighten his wife into returning to him. When they arrived, Myra was not present, but her mother, brother, and two small children were there. Aaron and St. Onge waited for Myra to return. Upon her arrival an argument ensued between Aaron and his wife. Aaron's mother-in-law called the police. Aaron then shot and killed his wife and also shot and wounded his brother-in-law. Aaron was charged with first-degree murder contrary to MCL 750.316 and with assault with intent to commit murder contrary to MCL 750.83. The prosecutor proceeded on theories of premeditated murder and felony murder with arson as the underlying felony. At the preliminary examination the district judge bound Aaron over on the premeditated murder theory but refused to bind over on the felony-murder theory due to insufficient evidence of arson. The prosecutor appealed to the circuit court which reversed and held there was sufficient evidence of arson to bind over on the felony-murder theory. Aaron was tried before a jury in the Jackson Circuit Court on both theories. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder. Aaron appealed to the Court of Appeals which affirmed the conviction. Aaron applied for leave to appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. The court granted leave limited to the issue of the continuing validity of the felony-murder doctrine in the state. The consolidated opinion also addresses two other cases. In People v. Thompson the defendant was convicted of first-degree felony murder resulting from a death during an armed robbery after the jury was instructed that intent to rob was sufficient without proving malice. The Court of Appeals reversed due to the lack of a malice instruction. In People v. Wright the defendant was convicted of two counts of first-degree felony murder for setting fire to a dwelling causing two deaths. The trial court instructed that proof the killings occurred during arson was sufficient and the Court of Appeals reversed for removing the malice element from the jury.
View caseDepraved-heart murder requires a higher degree of risk and indifference than involuntary manslaughter. The conduct must create a very high degree of risk of death or serious bodily injury that a reasonable person would realize, paired with extreme recklessness showing a depraved heart.
Supporting sources
Malice aforethought exists when the defendant acts with intent to kill, intent to inflict serious bodily harm, extreme recklessness demonstrating a depraved heart, or intent to commit a felony under the felony-murder rule.
Supporting sources
Some jurisdictions require that the defendant subjectively realize the high risk of death or serious injury. Others apply an objective standard under which it is enough that a reasonable person would have realized the risk created by the conduct.
No. The mental state is satisfied by extreme recklessness without any intent to kill or inflict serious bodily injury, so long as the conduct shows a depraved heart through wanton disregard for human life.
…today in most jurisdictions: "(1) intent-to-kill murder; "(2) intent-to-do-serious-bodily-injury murder; "(3) depraved-heart murder [wanton and willful disregard that the natural tendency of the defendant's behavior is to cause death or great bodily harm]; and "(4) felony murder." Under the common law,…