From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfirst-degree murderfirst-degree murderAmerican EnglishSC murder of the most serious type, in which someone deliberately kills someone else → manslaughter → first-degree
Examples from the Corpus
first-degree murder• She was charged with first-degree murder.• So the only issue before me is actual innocence of first-degree murder.• The prosecutor announced that if she died, he would charge Leyland with first-degree murder.• How her conviction for first-degree murder affects her exposure to lesser murder charges is a matter for debate.• Broadus and Lee face 25 years to life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges.• Instead of being convicted of first-degree murder, Mitchell got six years for voluntary manslaughter.• If convicted of first-degree murder Mr Markovic would face at least 10 years in prison. 