An attempted murder charge means the state believes you tried to kill someone and took real action toward doing it, even though the victim survived. To convict, prosecutors have to prove two things beyond a reasonable doubt: that you specifically intended to end the person’s life, and that you took a substantial step toward carrying that intent out. The penalties rival those for a completed killing. Federal law allows up to 20 years in prison,1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 1113 – Attempt to Commit Murder or Manslaughter and many states allow life sentences for the most serious classifications.
What Prosecutors Have To Prove
Two elements separate attempted murder from other violent crimes, and both sit higher than most people expect.
Specific Intent To Kill
A completed murder can sometimes rest on reckless indifference to human life. Attempted murder cannot. The U.S. Supreme Court drew this line clearly: someone acting with extreme recklessness can be convicted of murder if a death results, but that same recklessness will not support an attempted murder conviction when no one dies.2Ninth Circuit District & Bankruptcy Courts. 16.5 Attempted Murder (18 U.S.C. 1113) The prosecutor has to show you actually intended to kill the person.
That is why cases hinge on words, actions, and the nature of the attack. Shooting at someone’s torso tells a different story than firing a warning shot into the ground. If the state can only show you intended to injure or frighten the victim, the charge usually drops to aggravated assault or a similar offense.
A Substantial Step Toward the Killing
Thinking about killing someone is not a crime. Neither is buying a weapon or writing a plan in a journal. The law separates preparation from attempt, and you cross the line only by taking a “substantial step” that strongly demonstrates the crime would have happened if nothing intervened. Federal jury instructions describe this as conduct that “unequivocally demonstrates that the crime will take place unless interrupted by independent circumstances.”2Ninth Circuit District & Bankruptcy Courts. 16.5 Attempted Murder (18 U.S.C. 1113)
Courts routinely treat pulling a trigger, swinging a weapon at someone’s head, lying in wait near the victim’s home, or luring the victim to a secluded location as substantial steps. The common thread: the actions leave little doubt about what was about to happen.
First-Degree vs. Second-Degree Attempted Murder
Most states divide attempted murder into degrees based on how much planning went into the attack. The difference often decides whether you face a determinate prison term or a life sentence.
First-degree attempted murder requires premeditation and deliberation. You thought about killing the victim, reflected on the decision, and then carried out the plan. Courts do not require elaborate or lengthy planning; even a brief period of reflection can satisfy this element. What matters is that you had time to reconsider and chose to proceed. Evidence of premeditation often includes buying a weapon ahead of time, stalking the victim, making statements about the plan, or setting up circumstances to isolate the victim.
Second-degree attempted murder covers situations where the intent to kill was genuine but formed in the moment. A bar fight that escalates from punches to a stabbing might support second-degree charges if the prosecutor can show intent to kill formed during the altercation. The absence of a cooling-off period or advance strategy is what separates these cases from first-degree charges.
When the Charge Drops to Attempted Manslaughter
A defendant who intended to kill but acted under extreme emotional disturbance or in the heat of passion may face attempted voluntary manslaughter instead of attempted murder. This is not a separate charge the defense files. It functions as a lesser included offense the jury can choose if the evidence supports it.
The question is whether the provocation was serious enough that a reasonable person in the same situation would have lost self-control. A minor insult or a trivial argument does not qualify. If enough time passed between the provocation and the attack to cool down, the reduction is unavailable. The prosecution bears the burden of proving you were not acting from heat of passion.
This distinction can dramatically affect sentencing. Attempted voluntary manslaughter carries significantly shorter prison terms than attempted murder in most states.
Penalties for Attempted Murder
Sentencing varies by degree, jurisdiction, and any enhancements.
Under federal law, attempted murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 years, a fine, or both.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S.C. 1113 – Attempt to Commit Murder or Manslaughter Federal charges apply in limited circumstances, mostly when the crime occurs on federal property such as military bases, national parks, or federal buildings.
State penalties are where most attempted murder cases are prosecuted, and the ranges are steep. First-degree attempted murder frequently carries a life sentence with the possibility of parole after a minimum term. Second-degree attempted murder more often results in a determinate prison term, commonly ranging from five to fifteen years or more depending on the state. Habitual offender statutes, sometimes called three-strikes laws, can double these terms or impose 25 years to life for defendants with prior serious felony convictions.
Beyond incarceration, courts may impose substantial fines and lengthy periods of supervised release or parole. Restitution to the victim for medical expenses and other losses is common.
Factors That Push Sentences Higher
Several aggravating circumstances can add years or decades to a base sentence. They are typically charged as separate allegations attached to the main offense.
Firearm Enhancements
Using a gun during an attempted murder is one of the most common enhancers. Many states impose mandatory additional prison time based on how the firearm was used: possessing it, firing it, or causing injury with it. These tiers often add 10, 20, or 25 years to life on top of the base sentence, and the additional time typically runs consecutively rather than concurrently.
Who the Target Was
Attempting to kill a law enforcement officer, firefighter, emergency medical worker, or certain government officials triggers automatic charge escalations in most states. Prosecutors typically must prove you knew or reasonably should have known the victim’s status.
Murder-for-Hire and Gang Activity
Hiring someone to commit a killing or attempting murder to benefit a criminal organization both carry enhanced penalties. Courts treat organizational planning and ongoing danger as more serious than an individual act of violence.
Transferred Intent
If you try to kill one person but injure or kill a bystander instead, bad aim is not a defense. The doctrine of transferred intent moves the original intent from the intended target to the actual victim, supplying the mental state for charges involving the unintended victim. A defendant who shoots at one person and hits another can face attempted murder charges for the intended target and assault or murder charges for the bystander at the same time.
Common Defenses
Attempted murder charges are defensible. The specific-intent requirement gives defense attorneys more room to work than most violent crime charges allow. The strongest defenses attack the state’s ability to prove you actually intended to kill.
Self-Defense
Self-defense is a complete defense to attempted murder. If you reasonably believed you faced an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm and used proportional force in response, the charge fails entirely. The belief does not have to be correct in hindsight; it must be one a reasonable person in the same situation would have held. Courts evaluate the perceived threat, whether you had a duty to retreat (which varies by state), and whether the level of force matched the danger.
Lack of Specific Intent
Anything that undercuts intent to kill can reduce or eliminate the charge. In many states, evidence of voluntary intoxication can negate specific intent. If you were so intoxicated you could not form the deliberate purpose to kill, the charge may drop to a lesser offense like aggravated assault. Evidence of mental illness or cognitive impairment may prevent the prosecution from proving the required mental state. These defenses do not usually result in acquittal; they reduce the charge to a lesser included offense with a shorter sentence.
Voluntary Abandonment
A defendant who voluntarily and completely abandons the attempt before completing it may have a defense in some jurisdictions. The abandonment must be genuine, meaning a change of heart rather than fear of being caught or an unexpected obstacle. If you abandoned the plan because police sirens approached or because you spotted a security camera, the defense fails. You typically bear the burden of proving this defense.
Why Impossibility Usually Fails
Factual impossibility is not a defense. If you shoot at someone who happens to be wearing a bulletproof vest, the fact that the killing was impossible under the actual circumstances does not matter; intent and action were both present. Legal impossibility, where the actions were not actually criminal even though you believed they were, can be a defense, though it rarely arises in attempted murder cases.
Life After a Conviction
The punishment extends well beyond the prison sentence. A felony of this severity creates barriers that follow a person for life, and many defendants do not fully appreciate the consequences until after sentencing.
- Firearms: federal law permanently prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing firearms or ammunition. An attempted murder conviction easily crosses this threshold.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts
- Employment: roughly 70 percent of all collateral consequences in state and federal law relate to employment restrictions. A violent felony conviction disqualifies a person from most positions involving trust, security clearances, or professional licensing.4U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Collateral Consequences
- Housing: public and private housing providers routinely screen for criminal history. A conviction for a violent crime can disqualify an applicant from subsidized housing and many private rentals.
- Voting rights: felony disenfranchisement laws vary widely by state. Some states restore voting rights automatically after release; others require a separate application or gubernatorial pardon.
- Immigration: for noncitizens, attempted murder is almost certainly an aggravated felony under immigration law, making deportation virtually automatic and permanently barring reentry.
These consequences make it critical to understand the full scope of what a conviction means before accepting a plea or going to trial.
Bail and Pretrial Detention
Defendants charged with attempted murder face some of the most restrictive pretrial conditions in the criminal justice system. Many states classify attempted murder as eligible for pretrial detention without bail, particularly when the evidence is strong and the defendant is deemed a danger to the community. Even where bail is available, the amounts are routinely set at hundreds of thousands of dollars or more for violent felonies of this severity.
Courts evaluating bail or detention consider the strength of the evidence, the defendant’s criminal history, ties to the community, and the risk of flight or further violence. In practice, many defendants charged with attempted murder remain in custody throughout the pretrial period simply because they cannot post the required bond. Given how much of the case turns on intent and how quickly witness memories and physical evidence change, getting experienced defense counsel involved early is one of the most important decisions a defendant will make.