When you have been accused of murder or manslaughter, it can be terrifying, and can change your life completely, no matter what the outcome is. It is so important to make sure you seek help from a criminal solicitor as soon as possible so they can start helping you build the best defence possible.
Different types of murder charges
There are different types of murder that can be committed, and these all affect the length of the sentence that may be given at a trial. Even if you are innocent of this crime, it will still be very hard and stressful to build a defence.
Gang related murder
This is a type of murder where you are accused of being a part of a gang, and murdering someone that is in an opposing gang. This is a forever growing problem which mainly affects people of the ages from 16-24. Even if you did not committ the murder, but were found to be part of the gang that did, you could still be prosecuted. Gang related murder crimes can carry a higher sentence due to the violent nature of being in a gang in the first place.
Revenge murder
This is one of the more tricky cases to deal with, this is because the victim of the murder would have probably done something to cause the accused distress. An example of this would be if someone killed the person that abused or raped them. These cases are more complex as it is clear that the ‘victim’ was a very destructive and abusive person, and of course this would cause someone to want to get revenge.
One of the issues with this type of murder is that you can get accused of murdering someone for revenge, even when you haven’t done it. For example, if someone you had known problems with got killed, you would be considered a suspect. This is why it is important to receive help from a criminal solicitor, so you can make sure you have the best help available for your defence.
Domestic and honour killings
This type of murder is committed within a family or relationship, and carries a lot of hurt and emotion with it. It can be devastating to be accused of a crime like this, as the victim will be a family member or partner.
Honour killings are taken very seriously as they are usually pre-planned by a member of the victim’s family. An example of this would be if a daughter left her family to move somewhere else or was in a relationship that the family didn’t approve of, then a member of that family would plan to kill her.
Contract killings
When you are accused of this type of murder, it is vital to start getting help from a criminal solicitor as soon as possible, because it is taken very seriously. This is a type of murder where one party will hire another party to kill a specific person or group of people. These people are also known as hitmen, and are usually hired by drug lords, high-profile gangs and other powerful illegal leaders.
