T.P.I. -- CRIM. 7.01(a)
FIRST DEGREE MURDER (PREMEDITATED KILLING)
(FOR OFFENSES COMMITTED PRIOR TO JULY 1, 1995)
Any person who commits the offense of first degree murder is guilty of a crime.
For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following essential elements:1
(1) that the defendant unlawfully killed the alleged victim;
and
(2) that the defendant acted intentionally. A person acts intentionally when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to cause the death of the alleged victim;2 [A defendant=s conscious objective need not to be to kill a specific victim. If you find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intended to cause the result, the death of a person, and that he did so with premeditation and deliberation, then the killing of another, even if not the intended victim, would be first degree murder.] [3]
and
(3) that the killing was deliberate. A deliberate act is one performed with
a cool purpose; [4]
and
(4) that the killing was premeditated.
A premeditated act is one done after the exercise of reflection and judgment. [5] Premeditation means that the intent to kill must have been formed prior to the act itself. It is not necessary that the purpose to kill preexist in the mind of the accused for any definite period of time. It is sufficient that it preceded the act, however short the interval, as long as it was the result of reflection and judgment. The mental state of the accused at the time [he] [she] allegedly decided to kill must be carefully considered in order to determine whether the accused was sufficiently free from excitement and passion as to be capable of premeditation. If the design to kill was formed with deliberation and premeditation, it is immaterial that the accused may have been in a state of passion or excitement when the design was carried into effect. Furthermore, premeditation can be found if the decision to kill is first formed during the heat of passion, but the accused commits the act after the passion has subsided. [6]
If you find from the proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of murder in the first degree, you will so report and your verdict in that event shall be "We, the Jury, find the defendant guilty of murder in the first degree".
[If you so find, then it shall be your duty after a separate sentencing hearing to determine whether the defendant will be sentenced to death, life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, or life in prison, but you will not consider punishment for this offense at this time.]
FOOTNOTES
1. Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-13-202(a)(1).
2. State v. Page, ___S.W.3d___; No. M2001-01853-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. April 16, 2002).
3. State v. Millen, 988 S.W. 2d 164, 168 (Tenn. 1999), abolishing the doctrine of Atransferred intent.@
4. Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-13-201(b)(1).
5. Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-13-201(b)(2).
6. State v. Bullington, 532 S.W.2d 556, 559-60 (Tenn. 1976).
1. A person convicted of murder in the first degree shall be punished by death, by life without the possibility of parole if the offense was committed on or after July 1, 1993, or by imprisonment for life. Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-13-202(c). For the instruction concerning sentencing for this offense, see T.P.I. -- CRIM. 7.04(a) (Fixing Punishment of Death, Life Without Parole or Life) or T.P.I. -- CRIM. 7.04(b) (Fixing Punishment of Life Without Parole or Life).
2. A violation of Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-15-401, child abuse and neglect, may be a lesser included offense of first degree murder. Tenn. Code Ann. ' 39-15-401(d).
3. For offenses committed on or after July 1, 1995, see T.P.I. --- CRIM. 7.01(b).