Murder in Nevada law

First-degree murder is the most serious homicide offense in Nevada. It is defined as a murder committed under one of the following circumstances:

• Committed with premeditation or lying in wait
• Committed with torture of the victim
• Committed by means of poison
• Committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of a felony of a felony under Nevada's felony murder rule
• Committed to avoid or prevent an arrest, or to escape custody
• Committed on the property of a school, at an activity sponsored by a school, or on a school bus
• Committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of an act of terrorism

The penalties for first-degree murder are the death penalty, life in prison without the possibility of parole, life-with-parole after 20 years, or 50 years in prison with parole after 20 years.

Under Nevada's felony murder rule, a death caused by the perpetration or attempted perpetration of one of the following felonies, regardless of intent to kill, is punished as first-degree murder:

• Sexual assault
• Rape
• Kidnapping
• Arson
• Robbery
• Burglary
• Invasion of the home
• Sexual abuse of a child
• Sexual molestation of a child under the age of 14 years
• Child abuse
• Abuse of an older person or vulnerable person

Second-degree murder is the second most serious homicide offense in Nevada. It is defined as an intentional killing without premeditation, a killing where the perpetrator behaved so recklessly that death was a foreseeable result, or an unintentional death caused by the perpetrator supplying the victim illegal drugs. The penalties for second-degree murder are life-with-parole after 10 years, or 25 years in prison with parole after 10 years.[2][3][4][5]