Colorado statute
C.R.S. § 18-3-103 — Murder in the second degree - definitions.
Current through 2025 Regular Session
Part of Part 1: HOMICIDE AND RELATED OFFENSES, Colorado Revised Statutes.
Criminal charges under this statute
Full text of C.R.S. § 18-3-103
Statutory text current through the 2025 Regular Session. This is an officially sanctioned publication using the official text of the Colorado Revised Statutes; it is not the official statutes of the State of Colorado.
(1) A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if: (a) The person knowingly causes the death of a person; or (b) Acting either alone or with one or more persons, he or she commits or attempts to commit felony arson, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault as prohibited by section 18-3-402, sexual assault in the first or second degree as prohibited by section 18-3-402 or 18-3-403, as those sections existed prior to July 1, 2000, or a class 3 felony for sexual assault on a child as provided in section 18-3-405 (2), or the felony crime of escape as provided in section 18-8-208, and, in the course of or in furtherance of the crime that he or she is committing or attempting to commit, or of immediate flight therefrom, the death of a person, other than one of the participants, is caused by any participant. (1.5) It is an affirmative defense to a charge of violating subsection (1)(b) of this section that the defendant: (a) Was not the only participant in the underlying crime; and (b) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause, or aid the commission thereof; and (c) Was not armed with a deadly weapon; and (d) Did not engage himself or herself in or intend to engage in and had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious bodily injury. (2) Diminished responsibility due to self-induced intoxication is not a defense to murder in the second degree. (2.5) (Deleted by amendment, L. 96, p. 1844, § 12, effective July 1, 1996.) (3) (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection (3), murder in the second degree is a class 2 felony. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection (3), murder in the second degree is a class 3 felony where the act causing the death was performed upon a sudden heat of passion, caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended victim, affecting the defendant sufficiently to excite an irresistible passion in a reasonable person; but, if between the provocation and the killing there is an interval sufficient for the voice of reason and humanity to be heard, the killing is a class 2 felony. (c) For purposes of determining sudden heat of passion pursuant to subsection (3)(b) of this section, a defendant's act does not constitute an act performed upon a sudden heat of passion if it results solely from the discovery of, knowledge about, or potential disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, including but not limited to under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted nonforcible romantic or sexual advance toward the defendant. (4) A defendant convicted pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall be sentenced by the court in accordance with the provisions of section 18-1.3-406. (5) As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Gender identity" and "gender expression" have the same meaning as in section 18-1-901 (3)(h.5). (b) "Intimate relationship" has the same meaning as in section 18-6-800.3. (c) "Sexual orientation" has the same meaning as in section 18-9-121 (5)(b).
Official sources
Legal terms used in this section
Questions this section answers
Is murder in the second degree a felony or a misdemeanor in Colorado?
It depends on the circumstances: murder in the second degree ranges from a class 3 felony to a class 2 felony in Colorado under C.R.S. § 18-3-103.
Second degree murder - standard: class 2 felony (C.R.S. § 18-3-103(3)(a)) · Second degree murder - heat of passion: class 3 felony (C.R.S. § 18-3-103(3)(b)) · Second degree murder - heat of passion killing with cooling-off interval: class 2 felony (C.R.S. § 18-3-103(3)(b))
Which Colorado statute covers murder in the second degree?
Murder in the second degree is governed by C.R.S. § 18-3-103 (Murder in the second degree - definitions).
This reference is informational and is not legal advice.