Also known as: first-degree felony · first degree felony · felony in the first degree · 1st degree felony · felony 1 · F1
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A statutory classification denoting the most serious category of felony offenses. This grade applies to crimes such as murder, certain forms of rape and kidnapping, and robbery involving attempts to kill or inflict serious bodily injury. Conviction carries the highest authorized penalties, including the possibility of life imprisonment or death in capital cases.
Freya Freeman abducts a child from a playground and holds the victim in an isolated cabin for ransom. She keeps the child bound for three days without releasing her. Because the victim was not voluntarily released alive and in a safe place before trial, the kidnapping qualifies as a felony of the first degree.
Frank Fisher forces sexual intercourse on a stranger by threatening imminent death and then inflicts serious bodily injury during the attack. The presence of both compulsion by threat of death and the infliction of serious injury elevates the rape to a felony of the first degree.
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Fiona Foster is convicted of purposeful murder after shooting a rival. The court must decide whether to impose the death penalty or sentence her for a felony of the first degree. A separate proceeding weighs aggravating and mitigating factors to determine the appropriate punishment within that classification.
Francisco Frost commits a theft and then attempts to stab the victim to prevent interference. The attempt to inflict serious bodily injury during the theft upgrades the robbery to a felony of the first degree rather than the default second-degree grading.
A felony of the first degree is the highest statutory grade and applies to the most serious offenses such as murder. It carries the longest possible sentences, including life imprisonment or death, while second- and third-degree felonies receive shorter maximum terms.
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Kidnapping is a felony of the first degree unless the actor voluntarily releases the victim alive and in a safe place prior to trial, in which case it becomes a felony of the second degree.
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Rape is a felony of the second degree unless the actor inflicts serious bodily injury or the victim was not a voluntary social companion and had not previously permitted sexual liberties, in which cases the offense is a felony of the first degree.
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Murder is a felony of the first degree, but a separate proceeding determines whether the defendant receives a sentence for that felony or the death penalty based on aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
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A prosecution for a felony of the first degree must be commenced within six years after it is committed.
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…several days later after having used the credit card several times. Defendant was convicted, following a jury trial, of first degree felony murder with the special circumstance of killing during the course of a robbery (Pen. Code, §§ 187, 190.2, subd. (a)(17)(A)), robbery ( id. , § 211), and receipt of stolen property ( id. , §…