Also known as: lethal weapons · deadly weapon
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An instrument, device, material, or substance that, when used or intended to be used in a particular manner, is calculated or likely to produce death or serious bodily injury.
Lorenzo Lugo lured a colleague into a dark parking lot after learning of an impending report on his misconduct. He retrieved a heavy tire iron from his trunk and struck the colleague repeatedly in the head. The blows caused immediate death. The factfinder could infer from the intentional use of the tire iron on a vital area that Lorenzo acted with intent to kill.
Lucia Lopez argued with a coworker in a hospital corridor. She entered an operating room, obtained a scalpel, returned, and deliberately drove it into the coworker's chest. The wound proved fatal. The conduct satisfied the elements of aggravated assault because Lucia purposely caused bodily injury with a deadly weapon.
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Leo Lynch locked a graduate student inside a laboratory after a dispute over plagiarism. He wrapped a thick extension cord around the student's neck and applied force for several minutes. The student died from asphyxiation. The factfinder could draw a permissive inference that Leo intended to kill because he intentionally used the cord in a manner likely to cause death.
Layla Lane used a retained key to enter a locked monitoring station at night intending to alter data. She carried a backpack containing small homemade incendiary devices she planned to use if confronted. A manager entered and Layla shoved the manager toward a stairwell. The presence of the devices in the course of the burglary elevated the offense to a felony of the second degree.
Luis Lopez, a police officer, pursued an unarmed burglary suspect who fled on foot after a nighttime break-in. When the suspect ignored commands to stop, Luis fired his service weapon, striking the suspect in the back and causing death. The shooting raised questions about whether the use of lethal force against a nonviolent fleeing suspect complied with constitutional limits on deadly weapons.
Lamar Lewis, a Chicago resident, sought to keep a registered handgun in his home for self-defense after a municipal ordinance effectively banned most handgun possession. He challenged the ordinance as violating his right to keep and bear arms. The case tested whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's ability to possess a common lethal weapon inside the home against state and local restrictions.
The inquiry focuses on the manner in which the object is used or intended to be used. An object becomes a lethal weapon when it is calculated or likely to produce death or serious bodily injury in that manner. Both common-law decisions and the Model Penal Code apply this functional test rather than requiring the object to be designed exclusively as a weapon.
Yes. When a defendant intentionally employs a lethal weapon against a vital area such as the head, neck, or chest, the factfinder may infer that the defendant acted with intent to kill. That inference satisfies the malice aforethought element of common-law murder.
Under the Model Penal Code, purposely or knowingly causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon constitutes aggravated assault. In addition, committing burglary while armed with a deadly weapon elevates the offense to a felony of the second degree.
Yes. When a part of the body is used in a manner calculated or likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, it qualifies as a lethal weapon under the common-law definition.
…Dudley Field drafted a criminal code that prohibited "aiding" a suicide and, specifically, "furnish[ing] another person with any deadly weapon or poisonous drug, knowing that such person intends to use such weapon or drug in taking his own life." By the time the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, it was a crime in most States to…