Mississippi has three degrees of murder under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-19: first-degree (deliberate design to kill), second-degree (a depraved-heart killing without a design to kill anyone in particular), and capital murder (eleven listed situations, including killing a peace officer and killing during robbery, burglary, kidnapping, rape, sexual battery, arson, or felonious child abuse). First-degree murder carries mandatory life. Capital murder carries death, life without parole, or life. A murder indictment also carries every lesser-included offense, including manslaughter, which is why so many homicide trials are fought over the line between the two. If someone you love has been arrested for a death in Forrest or Lamar County, call (601) 582-5015 before anyone gives a statement.
- First-degree murder: mandatory life in the custody of the Department of Corrections under Section 97-3-21
- Second-degree murder: life if the jury fixes it, otherwise 20 to 40 years set by the judge
- Capital murder: death, life without parole, or life with parole eligibility, decided in a separate sentencing phase before the same jury
- Manslaughter: 2 to 20 years in state custody, or up to a year in county jail, or a fine of at least $500, under Section 97-3-25
- Bond is available in most murder cases; the Constitution allows a judge to deny it in capital cases when the proof is evident or the presumption great, and in any 20-year-or-more case on a written special-danger finding
Homicide Defense Is Trial Work, and We Try These Cases
Most criminal cases end in a negotiated plea. Murder cases are different. The State rarely offers a resolution a client can live with, the evidence is heavy with forensics and expert opinion, and the jury decides everything. That is why the question to ask any lawyer you are considering is a simple one: have you tried a murder case to a verdict?
At Lowrey, Fortner, & Miri P.A., the answer is yes. Partner A. Arman Miri has tried numerous cases to verdict, including first-degree murder, capital murder, and federal murder-for-hire prosecutions, and is capital defense certified. Partner Tom Fortner, a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, has defended capital murder and other death-penalty-eligible cases across more than four decades in state and federal court. Our office at 525 Corinne Street is blocks from the Forrest County jail and minutes from Forrest County Circuit Court at 630 Main Street, where these cases are tried. When you call (601) 582-5015, you reach lawyers who have stood in front of a jury with a life on the line.
This page covers Mississippi homicide law as the statutes actually read: the three degrees of murder, the penalties, manslaughter, self-defense and the castle doctrine, bond in a murder case, how the case moves through the Forrest and Lamar County courts, and the enhancements that can turn any violent felony into a life sentence. For the broader picture, start with our criminal defense overview; for charges in federal court, see our federal criminal defense page.
The 3 Degrees of Murder Under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-19
Every murder charge in Mississippi starts from the same sentence in Section 97-3-19: the killing of a human being without the authority of law, by any means or in any manner. What separates the three degrees is the mental state the State must prove and the circumstances of the killing.
First-Degree Murder
Deliberate design. A killing done with deliberate design to effect the death of the person killed, or of any human being. Two other killings are also first-degree murder under the statute: a killing without any design to cause death by a person engaged in a felony other than the capital predicates listed below, and a killing done with deliberate design to effect the death of an unborn child. Penalty: mandatory life.
Second-Degree Murder
Depraved heart. A killing done in the commission of an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual. The State does not have to prove you meant to kill anyone. It has to prove the act itself showed that degree of disregard for life. Penalty: life if the jury fixes it, otherwise 20 to 40 years.
Capital Murder
Eleven listed situations. The most common are killing a peace officer or firefighter acting in an official capacity, with knowledge of who the victim was, and a killing, with or without any design to cause death, during rape, burglary, kidnapping, arson, robbery, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse with a child under twelve, nonconsensual unnatural intercourse with mankind, or felonious child abuse under Section 97-5-39(2), or an attempt to commit one of those felonies. The list also covers murder for hire, murder by a person under a life sentence, murder by explosive device, murder on educational property, killing an elected official, killing three or more people in one episode or more than three within three years, and killing a witness or informant because of that status. Penalty: death, life without parole, or life.
One more line in the statute matters more than people expect. Under Section 97-3-19(3), an indictment for murder or capital murder serves as notice that it includes any and all lesser-included offenses, including manslaughter. A jury that hears a murder case can return a verdict of manslaughter instead, and a defense that cannot win an acquittal outright is often built to get the jury there.
What a Murder Conviction Carries: Section 97-3-21
Mississippi Code Section 97-3-21 sets the sentences, and there is little room in them. A person convicted of first-degree murder shall be sentenced by the court to imprisonment for life in the custody of the Department of Corrections. There is no range and no discretion. A person convicted of second-degree murder is imprisoned for life if the jury fixes that punishment in its verdict after a separate sentencing proceeding; if the jury fails to agree on life, the court fixes the penalty at not less than 20 nor more than 40 years.
A person convicted of capital murder is sentenced to death, to life in the State Penitentiary without parole, or to life with eligibility for parole as provided in Section 47-7-3(1)(c)(iii). Which of the three applies is decided in a separate sentencing phase before the same jury under Section 99-19-101, described below.
Juveniles are treated separately. Under Section 97-3-21(2), a juvenile offender is anyone who had not reached 18 at the time of the offense. A juvenile convicted of first-degree murder after July 1, 2024 may be sentenced to life if the jury so fixes, and otherwise to 20 to 40 years. A juvenile convicted of capital murder after July 1, 2024 may be sentenced to life or life without parole if the jury so fixes, and otherwise to 25 to 50 years. Section 99-19-101 bars a death sentence for anyone under 18 at the time of the offense. If your child is facing a homicide charge, our youth court page explains how a case moves between youth court and circuit court.
Manslaughter: The Charge a Murder Trial Often Comes Down To
Manslaughter in Mississippi is a killing without malice. Two theories carry most of the weight. Section 97-3-35 defines heat-of-passion manslaughter as the killing of a human being, without malice, in the heat of passion, but in a cruel or unusual manner, or by the use of a dangerous weapon, without authority of law, and not in necessary self-defense. Section 97-3-47 is the catch-all: every other killing of a human being, by the act, procurement, or culpable negligence of another, and without authority of law, not provided for elsewhere in the title, is manslaughter. A killing without malice during a felony that is not a capital predicate is manslaughter under Section 97-3-27, and a killing during a misdemeanor, where it would have been murder at common law, is manslaughter under Section 97-3-29.
The difference in exposure is the difference between a life and a future. Under Section 97-3-25, a person convicted of manslaughter is fined at least $500, or imprisoned in the county jail for not more than one year, or both, or sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections for not less than two nor more than twenty years. The one exception is child homicide: a manslaughter conviction where the killing was intentional rather than accidental, the defendant was over 21, and the victim was under 18 carries up to 30 years.
Because a murder indictment carries manslaughter as a lesser-included offense, the fight over which instruction the jury receives, and which verdict the evidence supports, is where much of a homicide defense is won. Evidence of provocation, the sequence of events in the seconds before the killing, and what the physical evidence says about intent all go to that line.
Self-Defense, the Castle Doctrine, and No Duty to Retreat
Not every killing is a crime. Mississippi Code Section 97-3-15 lists the situations in which a homicide is justifiable, and two of them come up in nearly every self-defense case. Under subsection (1)(e), a killing is justifiable when committed in resisting an attempt unlawfully to kill the person or to commit any felony upon him, or upon or in any dwelling, occupied vehicle, place of business, or place of employment. Under subsection (1)(f), it is justifiable when committed in the lawful defense of one’s own person or any other human being, where there is reasonable ground to apprehend a design to commit a felony or to do some great personal injury, and there is imminent danger of that design being accomplished.
Subsection (3) is the castle doctrine. A person who uses defensive force is presumed to have reasonably feared imminent death or great bodily harm, or the commission of a felony, if the person against whom the force was used was in the process of unlawfully and forcibly entering, or had unlawfully and forcibly entered, a dwelling, occupied vehicle, business, or place of employment, and the person using force knew or had reason to believe that the forcible entry was occurring or had occurred. The statute defines a dwelling broadly, as any building or conveyance with a roof designed for people to lodge in at night, including a tent and any attached porch. The presumption has limits: it does not apply if the other person had a right to be there or was a lawful resident or owner, if the person using force was engaged in unlawful activity, or if the person using force is a law enforcement officer performing official duties.
Subsection (4) removes the duty to retreat. A person who is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in unlawful activity has no duty to retreat before using deadly force under (1)(e) or (1)(f) in a place where the person has a right to be, and no finder of fact may consider a failure to retreat as evidence that the force was unnecessary, excessive, or unreasonable. Subsection (5) carries the presumption into civil court and makes a defendant who has been found not guilty on that basis immune from a civil suit over the same conduct.
In practice, a self-defense case is a race to preserve evidence: the scene, the phones, the surveillance footage from nearby businesses, the medical records, and the witnesses who saw who moved first. That evidence disappears in days. It is also the reason to say nothing to investigators before you have a lawyer. A person who acted in self-defense and gives a statement in the first hour, before anyone has seen the video, is describing a scene from memory under stress, and every inconsistency becomes cross-examination later. See our gun charges page for the firearm statutes that often travel with a self-defense homicide.
Bond in a Murder Case: What the Mississippi Constitution Says
The first fight in a homicide case is usually over release. Article 3, Section 29 of the Mississippi Constitution provides that all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, with two exceptions: capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great, and persons previously convicted of a capital offense or of any offense punishable by a maximum of 20 years or more. So a person charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, or aggravated assault has a constitutional right to bail, and a person charged with capital murder can be held without bail only if the State carries its burden at a hearing.
Subsection (3) gives the court a second path. For any offense punishable by 20 years or more or by life, a county or circuit judge may deny bail when the proof is evident or the presumption great, upon finding that release would constitute a special danger to any other person or to the community, or that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the person’s appearance. Subsection (4) requires the judge to place the reasons for any denial in the record, and it gives a person charged with a 20-year-or-more or life offense who is denied bail the right to an emergency hearing before a justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Subsection (2) cuts the other way: a person released on bail for a felony who is indicted for, or found on probable cause to have committed, a new felony while on bail must have bail revoked.
Those rules mean the bond hearing in a homicide case is a real hearing, with evidence, and preparing for it is the first job. Our bond and bail reduction page explains the Rule 8 factors that apply to every case; in a murder case, the constitutional provisions above sit on top of them.
How a Homicide Case Moves Through the Forrest and Lamar County Courts
Hattiesburg sits in two counties. A death on the Forrest County side is prosecuted in the 12th Circuit District at 630 Main Street; a death on the Lamar County side is prosecuted in the 15th Circuit District in Purvis. The path is the same in both.
Under Rule 5.1 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure, you must be brought before a judge within 48 hours of arrest, often by video from the jail. The judge informs you of the charge and your rights and addresses release. Most Mississippi jails record inmate calls; do not discuss the facts on a jail phone.
Rule 8 governs conditions of release, and in a homicide case Article 3, Section 29 of the Constitution controls whether bail can be denied. We prepare this hearing like a trial: employment, family ties, residence, and the weakness of the State’s proof all go on the record.
You can demand a preliminary hearing in municipal or justice court, and it must be held within 14 days of the demand unless the grand jury indicts first. The State must show probable cause, and we cross-examine the lead investigator under oath. It is the first look at the State’s theory, months before discovery arrives.
Grand juries meet by court term, not on demand, so the wait for indictment is often 4 to 12 weeks and can run longer. The 12th District docket also covers Perry County. We use the waiting period to preserve evidence, retain experts, and interview witnesses while memories are fresh.
After indictment you are arraigned, and discovery, expert disclosures, and motion practice follow. Mississippi law generally requires trial within 270 days of arraignment unless good cause is shown; in homicide cases, continuances for good cause are common on both sides. You have the right to a trial before a jury of twelve.
If a jury convicts of capital murder, Section 99-19-101 requires a separate sentencing phase before the same jury. A death sentence requires unanimous written findings of at least one statutory aggravating circumstance and that the mitigation does not outweigh it; if the jury does not make those findings or cannot agree, the court must impose life. Every death sentence is automatically reviewed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. Our appeals and post-conviction page covers what comes after a verdict.
For the early stage in detail, read The First 48 Hours After an Arrest in Mississippi. For the long middle stretch, our arrest-to-indictment timeline explains why the wait happens and how to use it. For the courthouse itself, see what to expect at Forrest County Circuit Court and our Lamar County courts guide.
Aggravated Assault and the Other Violent Felonies
Many of the cases we try began as a fight that did not end in a death. Mississippi Code Section 97-3-7 draws the line. Simple assault, under subsection (1), is attempting to cause or purposely, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to another, negligently causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon, or attempting by physical menace to put another in fear of imminent serious bodily harm; it is a misdemeanor carrying up to six months in county jail and a $500 fine. Aggravated assault, under subsection (2), is attempting to cause serious bodily injury, or causing it purposely, knowingly, or recklessly under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, or attempting to cause or purposely or knowingly causing bodily injury with a deadly weapon or other means likely to produce death or serious bodily harm. It carries up to one year in county jail or up to 20 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections.
When the victim is one of the people listed in subsection (14) acting within the scope of duty, including law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, health care providers, teachers and school staff, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and utility workers, or is a legislator, or is 65 or older or a vulnerable person, the ceiling for aggravated assault rises to 30 years and a $5,000 fine. The domestic violence versions of both offenses apply between spouses, former spouses, people who live or lived together, family members, dating partners, and co-parents; aggravated domestic violence, which includes strangling or attempting to strangle another person, carries two to twenty years. Our assault defense page and domestic violence defense page go deeper on each.
The Habitual Offender Statutes Change Everything
Two sentencing statutes sit behind every violent felony charge, and a prosecutor who invokes them changes the case. Under Section 99-19-81, a person convicted of a felony who has twice previously been convicted of a felony or federal crime, on charges separately brought and arising out of separate incidents at different times, and who was sentenced to separate terms of one year or more, shall be sentenced to the maximum term for the new felony, and that sentence shall not be reduced or suspended, with no eligibility for parole or probation, unless the court writes an explanation for deviating from the maximum in its sentencing order.
Section 99-19-83 goes further. If the two prior terms were each actually served for one year or more, whether concurrently or not, and any one of the felonies was a crime of violence as defined by Section 97-3-2, the sentence is life imprisonment, not to be reduced or suspended, with no parole, probation, or any other form of early release from actual physical custody. An aggravated assault charge that would otherwise carry a range becomes a life sentence for a defendant with the wrong record. Challenging whether the prior convictions qualify, and whether the State can prove them the way the statute requires, is part of the defense from the first day.
The Lawyers Who Try Homicide Cases at LFM
Three of our attorneys serve on the federal Criminal Justice Act panel for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, which appoints panel attorneys to defend federal criminal cases. Arman Miri also serves on the CJA appellate panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. That federal work sits on top of decades of homicide and violent felony defense in the Mississippi circuit courts.
Tom Fortner
Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. More than 40 years of criminal defense in state and federal court, including service as Public Defender for Jackson County and Hinds County.
A. Arman Miri
Leads the firm’s criminal defense practice and serves as the City of Hattiesburg Public Defender. A defender in both the state and federal systems, from county and city public defender roles to federal appointments under the Criminal Justice Act. Named to the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 for criminal defense. Has tried cases to verdict including capital murder, and sits on the CJA appellate panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which appoints him to handle federal criminal appeals.
Valorie G. Cochran
Defends DUI, misdemeanor, and felony charges across the Pine Belt, with close attention to the lawfulness of traffic stops and the reliability of chemical testing.
Related Criminal Defense Services
The full practice hub: charges, defenses, and courts across Mississippi.
Which local court hears what, and what follows an arrest here.
Charges in the Southern and Northern Districts of Mississippi.
Bond types, Rule 8 factors, and reduction motions in local courts.
Felon in possession, enhancements, and the firearm statutes.
Simple and aggravated assault under Section 97-3-7.
Simple and aggravated domestic violence charges and protection orders.
Challenging convictions and sentences after trial.
Juveniles charged with serious offenses, and transfer to circuit court.
Felony defense in the 12th Circuit Court District.
Justice, municipal, and 15th District circuit courts in Purvis.
Plain answers on bond, grand juries, expungement, and more.
What Clients Say About Our Defense Team
Rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google • Avvo 10.0 with a 5.0 client rating for our lead criminal defense partner
“Mr. Miri represented me in a felony criminal matter and was able to get the case dismissed.”
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“Great team to work with. Very professional, responsive, and handled my case smoothly from start to finish. I’m very satisfied with the outcome and highly recommend them.”
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“Armand Miri was my attorney and he was open, honest and straight to the point. He worked so hard for me. I was looking at life and I got 2yrs time served.”
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Reviews are from actual clients on Google and Avvo. Every case is different, prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Mississippi Murder and Homicide Defense FAQs
What is the difference between first-degree, second-degree, and capital murder in Mississippi?
All three are the killing of a human being without authority of law under Mississippi Code Section 97-3-19. First-degree murder is a killing done with deliberate design to cause death, or a killing during a felony that is not one of the capital predicates. Second-degree murder is a killing done in the commission of an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart, regardless of human life, without a premeditated design to kill any particular person. Capital murder is one of eleven listed situations, most commonly killing a peace officer or firefighter acting in an official capacity, or a killing during robbery, burglary, kidnapping, rape, sexual battery, arson, or felonious child abuse.
What is the sentence for murder in Mississippi?
Under Section 97-3-21, first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in the custody of the Department of Corrections. Second-degree murder carries life if the jury fixes that punishment in a separate sentencing proceeding; if the jury does not agree on life, the judge sentences within 20 to 40 years. Capital murder carries death, life without parole, or life with parole eligibility under Section 47-7-3(1)(c)(iii). Juvenile offenders, meaning anyone under 18 at the time of the offense, are sentenced under separate rules and cannot receive the death penalty.
Can you get bond on a murder charge in Mississippi?
Sometimes. Article 3, Section 29 of the Mississippi Constitution makes every person bailable before conviction except for capital offenses when the proof is evident or the presumption great, or when the person has a prior conviction for a capital offense or an offense carrying 20 years or more. For any offense carrying 20 years or more, a county or circuit judge may also deny bail after finding that release would be a special danger to another person or the community, or that no conditions will assure your appearance. A judge who denies bail must put the reasons in the record, and a person charged with a 20-year-or-more or life offense who is denied bail is entitled to an emergency hearing before a justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court.
What is depraved heart murder in Mississippi?
It is the statutory name for second-degree murder. Section 97-3-19(1)(b) defines it as a killing done in the commission of an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved heart, regardless of human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular individual. The State does not have to prove you intended to kill anyone; it has to prove the act itself showed that level of disregard for human life.
What is felony murder in Mississippi?
A killing that happens while someone is committing or attempting a felony, whether or not there was any design to cause death. If the underlying felony is rape, burglary, kidnapping, arson, robbery, sexual battery, unnatural intercourse with a child under twelve, nonconsensual unnatural intercourse with mankind, or felonious child abuse under Section 97-5-39(2), the charge is capital murder under Section 97-3-19(2)(e) or (f). If the underlying felony is any other felony, the charge is first-degree murder under Section 97-3-19(1)(c).
What is the difference between murder and manslaughter in Mississippi?
Malice. Murder is a killing with deliberate design or a depraved heart; manslaughter is a killing without malice. The two most common manslaughter theories are heat-of-passion manslaughter under Section 97-3-35, a killing in the heat of passion, in a cruel or unusual manner or with a dangerous weapon, without authority of law and not in necessary self-defense, and culpable-negligence manslaughter under Section 97-3-47, the catch-all for any other killing by act, procurement, or culpable negligence. Under Section 97-3-25, manslaughter carries two to twenty years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, or up to one year in county jail, or a fine of at least $500, or a combination.
Does Mississippi have a castle doctrine or stand-your-ground law?
Yes, in Section 97-3-15. A person who uses defensive force is presumed to have reasonably feared imminent death, great bodily harm, or a felony if the other person was unlawfully and forcibly entering, or had entered, a dwelling, occupied vehicle, business, or place of employment, and the person using force knew or had reason to believe it. The presumption does not apply if the other person had a right to be there, if the person using force was engaged in unlawful activity, or if the person using force is a law enforcement officer performing official duties. Subsection (4) adds that a person who is not the initial aggressor and is not engaged in unlawful activity has no duty to retreat before using deadly force in a place where the person has a right to be, and the jury may not treat a failure to retreat as evidence that the force was unnecessary.
Can a juvenile be sentenced to death or life without parole for murder in Mississippi?
Not to death. Section 99-19-101 bars a death sentence for anyone who was not at least 18 at the time of the offense. Under Section 97-3-21(2), a juvenile offender convicted of first-degree murder after July 1, 2024 may receive life if the jury fixes that punishment, and otherwise 20 to 40 years. A juvenile convicted of capital murder after July 1, 2024 may receive life or life without parole if the jury so fixes, and otherwise 25 to 50 years.
How long does a murder case take in Forrest or Lamar County?
Longer than most felony cases. After arrest and the initial appearance within 48 hours, a preliminary hearing can be demanded and must be held within 14 days unless the grand jury indicts first. Grand juries meet by court term, so the wait for indictment is often 4 to 12 weeks and can stretch longer. After arraignment in circuit court, Mississippi law generally requires trial within 270 days unless good cause is shown, and in homicide cases continuances for good cause are common on both sides because of the volume of forensic evidence, expert work, and witness preparation involved. It is not unusual for a murder case to take a year or more to reach trial.
What happens at the sentencing phase of a capital murder trial?
After a guilty verdict on capital murder, Section 99-19-101 requires a separate sentencing proceeding before the same jury, as soon as practicable, to decide between death, life without parole, and life. To impose death, the jury must unanimously find in writing that at least one culpability factor in subsection (7) exists, that at least one statutory aggravating circumstance in subsection (5) exists, and that the mitigating circumstances are insufficient to outweigh the aggravating ones. If the jury does not make those findings or cannot agree, the court must impose life imprisonment. Every death sentence is automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court of Mississippi.
Has anyone at Lowrey, Fortner, and Miri tried a murder case to verdict?
Yes. Partner A. Arman Miri has tried numerous cases to verdict, including first-degree murder, capital murder, and federal murder-for-hire prosecutions, and he is capital defense certified. Partner Tom Fortner defends the most serious felony charges under Mississippi law, including capital murder and other death-penalty-eligible cases, and is a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. Both serve on the federal Criminal Justice Act panel for the Southern District of Mississippi, along with attorney Valorie G. Cochran.
Do I have to talk to investigators about a death?
No. You have the right to remain silent and the right to a lawyer, and that is true whether you are a suspect, a witness, or someone who acted in self-defense. Tell the officer you want to speak with a lawyer, and questioning must stop. Statements made in the first hours after a death, before anyone has seen the evidence, are the statements prosecutors rely on most at trial. Call (601) 582-5015 before you give one.