Also known as: premeditated malice aforethought · deliberate premeditated malice · malice aforethought · premeditated malice
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An express form of malice aforethought consisting of an intent to kill that the defendant formed after reflection and deliberation. The mental state is shown by planning or a calculated decision to cause death rather than a sudden impulse.
Maxwell waited until a stormy night on the Imperial Sea before deliberately cutting Captain David's safety line. He stood by as David was swept overboard and drowned. The calculated timing and choice of action demonstrate that Maxwell formed the intent to kill after reflection.
Tina, enraged by Doug's demands at Urban Clinical, deliberately selected and administered a far excessive sedative dose that she knew would likely cause death. Doug died minutes later. The deliberate choice of a lethal amount after considering the risk shows the required mental state for murder.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Professor Max locked the laboratory door, seized an extension cord, and applied it to Preston's neck for several minutes despite pleas and loss of consciousness. The sustained targeting of a vital area after prolonged reflection supports the finding of deliberately premeditated malice aforethought.
Aidan locked the conference room door at Omega Securities and repeatedly struck Alfred in the head with a heavy stapler until unconsciousness. The deliberate selection of a blunt object aimed at a vulnerable area after the accusation allowed the factfinder to infer the premeditated intent to kill.
Marshall tackled Uriah at Birch Retail and continued stomping on his chest after Uriah cried out, knowing the blows targeted a vital area. The persistence despite visible distress shows the deliberate intent required when no excuse or heat-of-passion reduction applies.
Dennis Davis feloniously killed Sol Blackwell after evidence showed he formed the intent following reflection rather than sudden impulse. The prosecution's proof of the mental state satisfied the requirement of deliberately premeditated malice aforethought at common law.
No minimum time period is required. The mental state is satisfied when the defendant forms the intent to kill after any reflection, even if brief, rather than acting on a sudden impulse.
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Deliberately premeditated malice aforethought requires an actual intent to kill formed after reflection. Implied malice from felony murder arises solely from the intent to commit the underlying felony without any separate proof of intent to kill.
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Yes. Intentional use of a deadly weapon aimed at a vital area permits the factfinder to infer the deliberate intent to kill that satisfies deliberately premeditated malice aforethought.
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No. The factfinder weighs the defendant's statement against objective facts such as the duration, targeting, and force applied. Sustained action against a vital area after the victim becomes limp supports the inference of intent despite the claim.
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…(1975), in which we invalidated a Maine statute that presumed that a defendant who acted with an intent to kill possessed the "malice aforethought" necessary to constitute the State's murder offense (and therefore, was subject to that crime's associated punishment of life imprisonment). The statute placed the burden on the defendant…