As reported by Amanda Milkovits in the May 10, 2015 edition of the Providence Journal, an East Providence woman was killed on Mother’s Day. The woman was stabbed to death by an ex-boyfriend. This was the first homicide of the year in East Providence. According to police, there was a history of domestic violence incidents between the parties and the woman recently obtained a restraining order. The man was arrested later that day.
Pursuant to Rhode Island General Law 11-23-2, defines first and second degree murder, every person guilty of murder in the first degree shall be imprisoned for life. Every person guilty of murder in the first degree: (1) committed intentionally while engaged in the commission of another capital offense or other felony for which life imprisonment may be imposed; (2) committed in a manner creating a great risk of death to more than one person by means of a weapon or device or substance which would normally be hazardous to the life of more than one person; (3) committed at the direction of another person in return for money or any other thing of monetary value from that person; (4) committed in a manner involving torture or an aggravated battery to the victim; (5) committed against any member of the judiciary, law enforcement officer, corrections employee, assistant attorney general or special assistant attorney general, or firefighter arising from the lawful performance of his or her official duties; (6) committed by a person who at the time of the murder was committed to confinement in the adult correctional institutions or the state reformatory for women upon conviction of a felony; or (7) committed during the course of the perpetration or attempted perpetration of felony manufacture, sale, delivery or other distribution of a controlled substance otherwise prohibited by the provisions of chapter 28 of title 21.
Every person guilty of murder in the second degree shall be imprisoned for not less than ten (10) years and may be imprisoned for life.
Murder is one of the seventeen (17) crimes which may be charged as domestic violence crimes. Crimes are designated domestic crimes based on the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. The type of relationship is broadly defined to include “family or household members," meaning spouses, former spouses, adult persons related by blood or marriage, adult persons who are presently residing together or who have resided together in the past three (3) years, and persons who have a child in common regardless of whether they have been married or have lived together, or if persons who are or have been in a substantive dating or engagement relationship within the past one year which shall be determined by the court's consideration of the following factors:
(1) the length of time of the relationship;
(2) the type of the relationship;
(3) the frequency of the interaction between the parties.
If convicted of a domestic violence crimes, additional penalties of domestic violence counseling and a no-contact order with the victim(s) are imposed.
If you or a family member has been charged with murder, assault or other domestic violence crimes, get in touch with an experienced attorney. Please contact Attorney Robert H. Humphrey, Esq., at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com.