Defending Against Felony Charges for Criminally Negligent Homicide
Felony offenses are the most serious type of offenses that a person can face in Colorado. There are different degrees of felony charges that are based on the severity of the offense. The least serious felonies are charged as class 6 felony offenses, with the most serious charged as class 1 felony offenses. All felonies typically result in a sentence that includes jail time, depending on the circumstances. Criminally negligent homicide is one type of felony offense that is typically charged as a class 5 felony. If you are facing charges for criminally negligent homicide, it is critical to do everything you can to build a strong defense. Our Denver felony defense lawyer can tell you more.
Understanding Criminally Negligent Homicide Charges
To defend against criminally negligent homicide, you need to understand the details of the charges. Under CRS 18-3-105, criminally negligent homicide is defined as follows: “Any person who causes the death of another person by conduct amounting to criminal negligence commits criminally negligent homicide which is a class 5 felony.” The definition of criminal negligence in relation to criminally negligent homicide charges, according to Colorado law, “means a failure to perceive, through a gross deviation from the standard of reasonable care, a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death will result from certain conduct.”
In simpler terms, criminally negligent homicide refers to a situation where one party’s gross negligence (something more than ordinary negligence, or an ordinary careless act or omission) results in the death of another person. This type of negligence usually means that you knew or should have known there was a “substantial and unjustifiable risk of death” connected with your behavior, but you engaged in the behavior anyhow. You did not set out to kill someone, but you knew or should have known that your behavior was so dangerous that it could result in someone’s death.
Defenses to Criminally Negligent Homicide
You will always want to tailor any defense strategy to the specific facts of your case, but you should consider discussing one or more of the following potential defense strategies with your Colorado criminal defense lawyer:
- A reasonable person would not know that death was a possible outcome of your behavior, and instead your behavior amounted to ordinary negligence (and not gross negligence);
- Your behavior (or omission) was not actually what caused the other person’s death;
- Your arrest involved a violation of your constitutional rights; and/or
- You have an alibi.
A conviction of criminally negligent homicide can result in a conviction of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $100,000, and mandatory parole for two years after serving your prison sentence. Accordingly, you will want to do everything you can to build a strong defense with assistance from a lawyer who has experience handling felony cases.
Contact a Denver Felony Defense Attorney for Assistance
If you are facing charges for criminally negligent homicide, or if someone you care about is facing these charges, it is essential to begin working with experienced legal counsel as soon as possible. While criminally negligent homicide is not among the most serious types of felony charges that a person can face in the Denver area, a conviction will nonetheless result in a felony sentence and having a felony record. To start working on your defense strategy, you should get in touch with one of the experienced Denver felony defense attorneys at DeChant Law as soon as possible. Contact us today to learn more about options for defending against these serious felony charges.
Sources:
law.justia.com/codes/colorado/title-18/article-3/part-1/section-18-3-105/
law.justia.com/codes/colorado/2021/title-18/article-1/part-5/section-18-1-501
