F.S. 782.04(1)(a) [First Degree Felony]

Before you can find a person guilty of Attempted Murder- First Degree, the State Attorney’s Office must prove the following three elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

1. Defendant did some act intended to cause death of the victim that went beyond just talking about it, and
2. Defendant acted with a premeditated design to kill the victim, and
3. The act would have resulted in the death of the victim except that someone prevented the defendant from killing the victim or he/she failed to do so.

NOTE:
1. Criminal Intent and Attempted Murder. The degree of the felony offense for an Attempted Murder charge depends on the facts and circumstances involved in each specific case. Attempted Murder can be charged as a first degree or a second degree offense. Whether the State Attorney’s Office believes that a Defendant acted with a premeditated design is central to a final charging decision.

2. Justifiable Attempted Homicide. The attempted killing of a human being is justified and lawful if done because it was necessarily done while resisting an attempt to murder or commit a felony upon the defendant, or to commit a felony in any dwelling house in which the defendant was at the time of the attempted killing.