Murder/Manslaughter
Being charged with a crime as consequential as murderis a matter of your life-and-death. You need representation that’s skilled and pragmatic enough to defend you from this serious charge. At Efstathios C. Efstathiou LLC, we have highly professional criminal defense lawyers that will resolve the allegations, safeguard your future, and maximize your opportunities. To defend our clients, we go through a deep analysis of the evidence and its relation to the alleged offender in order to come up with a vigorous defense for a murder manslaughter case.
These cases vary greatly in terms of their nature. Some of these include:
- A direct one-to-one fight with an intent to kill
- An accidental homicide
- A pre-planned execution
- A joint enterprise manslaughter
The prosecution will build their altercations on the basis of the multiple pieces of evidence that they obtain relative to the case. For instance, if they have eye-witnesses that can appear before the judge – the prosecution will most definitely rely on them to prove their case. At the same time, the proesecuting attorney will go for murder weapon evidence, surveillance footages, cell site analysis and tracking, call record history, or forensic proof against alleged offenders.
However, it is completely possible for us, as your defense attorney, to challenge every step of the prosecution and ensure that anything they obtain as evidence is lawfully submissible before the judge.
Considerable Aspects of a Murder Manslaughter Case
There are a number of aspects that come into play when it comes to a murder/manslaughter case. Each of these are significant in determining the dynamics of the opposing attorneys.
Intent of the Accused
In a murder case, it is definitive for the prosecution to not only prove that you participated in the unlawful act but also clarify your intent to kill. To do so, the opposing attorney has to provide evidence that’s beyond a reasonable doubt. If the intent to kill was to cause serious harm to the victim, it is considered as murder. On the contrary, if the intent was not to cause serious harm to the victim but the accused is still responsible for the victim’s death, the defendant is charged with manslaughter.
Mental Health and Psychological Issues
In some cases, the accused might take responsibility for the victim’s death under the circumstances that he did not intend to cause any serious harm to the victim. If the accused pleads guilty to manslaughter, the case might possibly shift towards exploring the mental health of the accused at the time of offense. Here, the observations and diagnosis of a psychiatrist are vital for the final verdict.
Self Defense
If the defense attorney is able to provide hard-core evidence that the victim’s death was a result of self defense rather than the intent to cause serious harm, the verdict can be manslaughter. As long as you have acted in a balanced and rational way to defend yourself from the deceased and your defense attorney proves it beyond a reasonable doubt, the conviction proceeds in terms of manslaughter.
Causality of the Incident
Sometimes, the causation of a defendant can lead to the death of a victim even if it wasn’t his intent to bring harm to the person. In such a case, it might be some action or decision that led to becoming an influencing factor to the victim’s death. Here, knowing your real intent is important to reach a verdict.
Plea of an Alibi
If you are facing murder charges, having an alibi can be one of the strongest defending piece of evidence. As long as it is proved before the law that you had an alibi at the alleged time of crime, you can be in the clear and no conviction will proceed against you.
Joint Enterprise
Joint enterprise in murder cases implies that the execution was carried by a group activity, rather than a single person. If you are charged to be a part of that enterprise, it means that the prosecutor considers you as one of the influences that lead to the homicide of the victim. In this case, your defense attorney makes a stand against the prosecution to prove that you weren’t part of this enterprise nor did you have the intent to kill the victim.
Murder Conspiracy
Sometimes, the offender isn’t charged for literally “stabbing the victim” but is still allegedly guilty for being a party to the crime. In this scenario, you will have the charges of conspiring against the victim and playing a considerable in his death. This role can include luring the victim to the crime scene, providing the murder weapon despite being aware of its intended use, or even planning the entire plan. Prosecution will attack you given the extent of your alleged conspiracy and your defense attorney will find legal evidence to counter the charges.
Get in Touch With the Leading Criminal Defense Attorney in Cyprus
At Efstathios C. Efstathiou LLC, we have professionally-skilled barristers that can provide you with great representation for murder or manslaughter allegations. Our attorneys are thorough in building a defense case for you and consider each and every aspect relative to the charges pressed against you.
Get in touch with us today and seek the most proficient criminal defense representation for your case!