What Is a Murder Conviction?
A murder conviction is a jury verdict in which someone who has been accused of murder is found guilty. The standards for conviction in murder cases are very high to ensure that people are not falsely convicted and to protect the integrity of the justice system. Once a murder conviction is returned by the jury, the judge in the case can issue a sentence. This also typically triggers an appeals process, in which the convicted person challenges the conviction in a higher court. Rather than being charged simply with “murder,” people are charged with murder in the form of a degree. Murder charges are divided into degrees to separate out different types of murders; whether or not the accused planned the murder and intended to kill the victim plays a role in determining which degree to assign to the charge. Murder also differs from manslaughter.
