{"data":{"id":"us-ak/as-11.41.100","jurisdiction":"us-ak","citation":"AS 11.41.100","heading":"Murder in the first degree.","body":"(a) A person commits the crime of murder in the first degree if\n(1) with intent to cause the death of another person, the person\n(A) causes the death of any person; or\n(B) compels or induces any person to commit suicide through duress or deception;\n(2) the person knowingly engages in conduct directed toward a child under the age of 16 and the person with criminal negligence inflicts serious physical injury on the child by at least two separate acts, and one of the acts results in the death of the child;\n(3) acting alone or with one or more persons, the person commits or attempts to commit a sexual offense against or kidnapping of a child under 16 years of age and, in the course of or in furtherance of the offense or in immediate flight from that offense, any person causes the death of the child; in this paragraph, \"sexual offense\" means an offense defined in AS 11.41.410 - 11.41.470;\n(4) acting alone or with one or more persons, the person commits or attempts to commit criminal mischief in the first degree under AS 11.46.475 and, in the course of or in furtherance of the offense or in immediate flight from that offense, any person causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; or\n(5) acting alone or with one or more persons, the person commits terroristic threatening in the first degree under AS 11.56.807 and, in the course of or in furtherance of the offense or in immediate flight from that offense, any person causes the death of a person other than one of the participants.\n(b) Murder in the first degree is an unclassified felony and is punishable as provided in AS 12.55.\n(a) A person commits the crime of murder in the second degree if\n(1) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person or knowing that the conduct is substantially certain to cause death or serious physical injury to another person, the person causes the death of any person;\n(2) the person knowingly engages in conduct that results in the death of another person under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life;\n(3) under circumstances not amounting to murder in the first degree under AS 11.41.100(a)(3), while acting either alone or with one or more persons, the person commits or attempts to commit arson in the first degree, kidnapping, sexual assault in the first degree, sexual assault in the second degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree, sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree, burglary in the first degree, escape in the first or second degree, robbery in any degree, or misconduct involving a controlled substance under AS 11.71.010(a), 11.71.021(a), 11.71.030(a)(2) or (9), or 11.71.040(a)(1) or (2) and, in the course of or in furtherance of that crime or in immediate flight from that crime, any person causes the death of a person other than one of the participants;\n(4) acting with a criminal street gang, the person commits or attempts to commit a crime that is a felony and, in the course of or in furtherance of that crime or in immediate flight from that crime, any person causes the death of a person other than one of the participants;\n(5) the person with criminal negligence causes the death of a child under the age of 16, and the person has been previously convicted of a crime involving a child under the age of 16 that was\n(A) a felony violation of AS 11.41;\n(B) in violation of a law or ordinance in another jurisdiction with elements similar to a felony under AS 11.41; or\n(C) an attempt, a solicitation, or a conspiracy to commit a crime listed in (A) or (B) of this paragraph; or\n(6) the person knowingly manufactures or delivers a controlled substance in violation of AS 11.71.010 or 11.71.021, and another person dies as a direct result of ingestion of the controlled substance; the death is a result that does not require a culpable mental state.\n(b) In a prosecution for murder in the second degree under (a)(6) of this section, it is an affirmative defense that reduces the crime to a class A felony that, at the time of the offense,\n(1) the defendant sought, in good faith, medical or law enforcement assistance for the other person;\n(2) the defendant remained at the scene with the other person until medical or law enforcement assistance arrived;\n(3) the defendant cooperated with medical or law enforcement personnel, including by providing identification; and\n(4) the offense involved small quantities of a controlled substance that were not delivered for a profit.\n(c) Except as provided in (b) of this section, murder in the second degree is an unclassified felony and is punishable as provided in AS 12.55.\n(a) In a prosecution under AS 11.41.100(a)(1)(A) or 11.41.110(a)(1), it is a defense that the defendant acted in a heat of passion, before there had been a reasonable opportunity for the passion to cool, when the heat of passion resulted from a serious provocation by the intended victim.\n(b) In a prosecution under AS 11.41.110(a)(3), it is an affirmative defense that the defendant\n(1) did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit or aid in its commission;\n(2) was not armed with a dangerous instrument;\n(3) had no reasonable ground to believe that another participant, if any, was armed with a dangerous instrument; and\n(4) had no reasonable ground to believe that another participant, if any, intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury.\n(c) A person may not be convicted of murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(3) if the only underlying crime is burglary, the sole purpose of the burglary is a criminal homicide, and the person killed is the intended victim of the defendant. However, if the defendant causes the death of any other person, the defendant may be convicted of murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(3). Nothing in this subsection precludes a prosecution for or conviction of murder in the first degree or murder in the second degree under AS 11.41.110(a)(1) or (2) or of any other crime, including manslaughter or burglary.\n(d) [Repealed, § 44 ch 102 SLA 1980.]\n(e) Nothing in (a) or (b) of this section precludes a prosecution for or conviction of manslaughter or any other crime not specifically precluded.\n(f) In this section,\n(1) “intended victim” means a person whom the defendant was attempting to kill or to whom the defendant was attempting to cause serious physical injury when the defendant caused the death of the person the defendant is charged with killing;\n(2) “serious provocation” means conduct which is sufficient to excite an intense passion in a reasonable person in the defendant's situation, other than a person who is intoxicated, under the circumstances as the defendant reasonably believed them to be; insulting words, insulting gestures, or hearsay reports of conduct engaged in by the intended victim do not, alone or in combination with each other, constitute serious provocation.","path":["Title 11. Criminal Law.","Chapter 41. Offenses Against the Person.","Article 1. Homicide."],"source_url":"https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#11.41.100","current_through":"Alaska Statutes 2025 (34th Legislature, 2025-2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T06:16:41Z","sha256":"a06dd023394089f5e5318edce8aa6908bcbaa87fb7bab3e7e547fabc772508df","source_id":"us-ak","stale":false,"prev":"us-ak/as-11.31.150","next":"us-ak/as-11.41.120"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}