Also known as: impliedly malicious · constructive malice
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A form of malice aforethought consisting of reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, a deliberate intent to inflict great bodily injury, or an intent to commit a felony.
Isabelle Inman accelerates her car directly into a group of pedestrians protesting on a narrow bridge after learning the road is closed. She knows the impact will likely kill or maim several people yet continues without braking. When one protester dies, the reckless indifference supplies implied malice for murder.
Ibrahim Iqbal and Ira Irving break into a home intending to steal electronics. When the homeowner awakens and confronts them, Iqbal strikes the homeowner with a crowbar to complete the theft. The homeowner dies from the blow. The intent to commit the underlying felony supplies implied malice under the felony-murder rule.
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Israel Irving locks Irene Ingalls in a room and repeatedly strikes her head with a metal pipe until she loses consciousness. He then leaves without seeking help. The deliberate targeting of the head with a heavy instrument demonstrates intent to inflict great bodily injury and therefore supplies implied malice.
Isaiah Ishikawa enters a store with a loaded gun intending to commit robbery. During the crime the gun discharges and kills the clerk. The commission of the inherently dangerous felony establishes the implied malice required for murder even without a separate intent to kill.
Imperial Motors employee Indigo Textiles kills a coworker after an argument. The prosecution must prove malice beyond a reasonable doubt. Evidence of extreme recklessness or intent to cause serious injury can establish implied malice even if the defense claims sudden provocation.
Ivy Investments manager Indigo Textiles kills a rival after a business dispute. The state must prove the absence of heat of passion to establish malice. Failure to carry that burden prevents conviction for murder even when reckless conduct is shown.
Express malice requires a deliberate intent to kill. Implied malice exists when the defendant acts with intent to cause great bodily injury, with reckless indifference to human life, or during the commission of a felony.
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Intentional use of a deadly weapon permits a jury to infer intent to kill, which can establish express malice. Implied malice may still be shown independently through reckless indifference or intent to cause great bodily injury even without that inference.
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Yes. An intent to commit a felony supplies implied malice under the felony-murder rule when the death occurs during the commission of that felony.
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The defendant must act with reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life, often described as an abandoned and malignant heart.
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…either express or implied." Manslaughter was a killing "in the heat of passion, on sudden provocation, without express or implied malice aforethought." Id. , at 686, and n. 3. Although "express malice" at one point may have had its own significant independent meaning, see Perkins, A Re-Examination of Malice Aforethought, 43…