Common Law Background: Two Degrees of Murder - Recall that the major innovation introduced by legislatures to the common law definition of murder was the division of murder into “degrees.” This reflected legislative judgments that the death penalty – the prescribed punishment for common law murder at the time – should be reserved only for the most serious forms of murder. ................................................................................................................. This content is drawn from our Criminal Law tutorial on the Model Penal Code Approach to Homicide, which contains numerous hypotheticals on the topic. If you are interested in this content, you may want to try our free Criminal Law Advisor Course. You will need to register for our free account. It's fast, easy and, of course, free. ................................................................................................................. In most states today, murder under the common law is divided into two degrees: (Pennsylvania was the first state to follow this approach, which is still widely known as the “Pennsylvania Model.”) Model Penal Code Reforms - One of the main goals of the Model Penal Code’s drafters was to reform the treatment of mens rea in American criminal law. The M.P.C.’s approach to homicide draws on the mens rea terms and definitions in Section 2.02 and is marked by: (1) Abandoning the common law concept of “malice aforethought” in the definition of murder; and (2) Extensively revising the treatment of manslaughter. In this sense, the M.P.C. moves further from the common law approach than earlier statutory reforms. However, in another way, the M.P.C. signals a partial return to the common law approach by declining to divide murder into degrees. Three Forms of Criminal Homicide - The M.P.C. divides criminal homicide into three types: murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide (sections 210.1 – 210.4). Murder: Three Alternative Mens Rea Terms - Under the M.P.C., there are three alternative mens rea terms for murder: Purposely - Defendant’s conscious object is to cause the death of another human being. Knowingly - Defendant is aware that it is practically certain that his conduct will cause the death of another human being. Extreme Recklessness - Defendant consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the death of another human being will result from his conduct. The conduct must be a gross deviation from the standard of conduct of a law-abiding person, and must manifest extreme indifference to the value of human life. Manslaughter and Negligent Homicide - Subsequent posts will address the mens rea terms for the M.P.C.’s other two forms of criminal homicide – manslaughter and negligent homicide. The Law School Experience - These and related topics are covered in our tutorials on Criminal Law. To explore some of our free materials, go to The Law School Experience.