The term "capital murder" is used in only eight U.S. states; however, 29 states and
United States federal government currently allow capital punishment,[SUP]
[4][/SUP] and each has its own terminology for an offense punishable by death. In most states, the term "First-Degree Murder" is used; others may use the term "Aggravated Murder" (such as New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia (since 2021)), and some use simply "Murder". The seven states that use the term "Capital Murder" are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Texas. The state of Georgia uses the term "Malice Murder".
Not all offenses are parallel between the states. In some,
first-degree murder is a very broad term defined by a number of circumstances, only a few of which make a defendant eligible for execution. In other jurisdictions, an offense carrying the death penalty is strictly defined and is separate from other, similar crimes.
Although legal definitions vary, capital murder in the United States usually means murder involving one or more of the following factors:
- The victim is a police officer, firefighter, paramedic or similar public safety professional and was killed while on duty
- The victim is killed during the commission of another violent felony, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, arson, etc. (felony murder)
- The victim is tortured, raped or sexually assaulted, particularly if the victim is a child
- Multiple murders are committed pursuant to one another[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
- Murder-for-hire[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
- Terrorism[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
- The victim is murdered based on race, national origin, and other associated groups[SUP][citation needed][/SUP]
Some states may include other factors which amount to capital murder or its legal equivalent.