A 50-year-old man was recently killed in South Memphis. He was found with gunshot wounds and was pronounced deceased in a church parking lot. The victim’s vehicle, a BMW, was stolen. It was later recovered and checked for fingerprints.
At that point, police officers connected an 18-year-old man to some of the fingerprints on the vehicle. That young man was questioned by police and said that he was inside of the “dead man’s car.” He was aware of the location where the vehicle was left and had information about the deceased man’s death, including where and how many times he was shot.
The 18-year-old man is facing criminal charges for employment of a firearm, carjacking and first-degree murder. These charges are very serious, so he needs to work on his defense strategy quickly.
In Tennessee, a first-degree murder charge stems from a killing that the evidence suggests was done intentionally and with planning. It is also associated with murders that occur during the commission of a felony act. This charge comes with the possibility of life in prison; however, it’s also possible for the prosecutor to seek the death penalty in some instances.
Determining what defense strategy to use in a case of this magnitude can be challenging. The defense must be based on facts, and it should call important points of the prosecution’s case into question. It’s possible that some options might focus solely on trying to reduce the severity of the penalties the defendant will face so this must be discussed carefully with your attorney if you’re facing a murder charge.
