Also known as: reckless murders · depraved heart murder · depraved-heart murder
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A category of common law murder committed when the defendant engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death to another under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.
Carla authorizes a crewed rocket launch after engineers warn of significant fuel tank cracks that could cause catastrophic failure. She dismisses the warnings and proceeds anyway. The rocket explodes and kills the pilot. Carla's conscious decision to accept the extreme and obvious danger to human life supplies the extreme indifference required for reckless murder rather than a lesser homicide charge.
Carla disconnects the safety interlock on a hydraulic press to meet production quotas despite knowing workers must clear jams near the machine. A new employee is crushed to death when the press cycles unexpectedly. Her deliberate choice to expose workers to the obvious lethal risk demonstrates the extreme indifference that elevates the killing to reckless murder.
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Reckless murder requires conduct creating a grave risk of death under circumstances showing extreme indifference to human life. Involuntary manslaughter covers a lower degree of recklessness or criminal negligence that creates a substantial but less extreme risk of death or serious injury.
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No. The mental state is satisfied by reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life even without any purpose to cause death or serious injury.
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The deliberate act of blocking emergency exits in a packed indoor space creates an obvious and extreme risk that any emergency will trap people and cause death. That conscious disregard of a grave danger to many lives supplies the extreme indifference element.
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The conduct creates a substantial and unjustified risk of death but does not reach the virtually certain or extreme level of danger typically required for depraved-heart murder, such as firing into a crowd.
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…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."[^maj-101] Under the common law,…