Federal Defense Attorney John Teakell

A felony is more serious than a misdemeanor offense and is generally a crime punishable by more than a year in prison. Some common felonies include aggravated assault and/or battery, arson, burglary, embezzlement, grand theft, treason, espionage, racketeering, robbery, murder, rape, kidnapping, and fraud. Felonies have a wide range of punishment from probation, to imprisonment, to execution for the more serious crimes. In the United States, convicted felons also lose their right to vote, are excluded from certain types of jobs and obtaining certain licenses, exclusion from purchasing and possession of firearms, ammunition and body armor, and the ineligibility to run for or be elected to a public office.

Similar to misdemeanor offenses, there are different levels felonies and each carries a different degree of punishment. The lowest being a state jail felony and the highest a Capital Felony.

Types of Felonies

What is a State Jail Felony?

Common state jail felonies include credit card abuse, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and reckless injury to a child. State jail felonies typically include a punishment of confinement for a term in a state jail from 180 days to two years and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

What is a Third Degree Felony?

Common third degree felonies include a third DWI (drunk driving) charge, indecency with a child, kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a felon. The punishment usually consists of confinement for a term from two to 10 years in prison and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.

What is a Second Degree Felony?

The punishment for a second degree felony consists of confinement for a term from two to 20 years in prison and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. Common second degree felonies include aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping if the victim is released unharmed, arson, robbery, and sexual assault.

What is a First Degree Felony?

The punishment for a first degree felony consists of confinement for life or a term from five to 99 years in prison and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000. Common first degree felonies include murder, aggravated kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault.

What is a Capital Felony?

This is the most severe and serious of all felony convictions. Murder that is committed during the act of another felony such as kidnapping, rape or robbery, qualified for the capital felony charge. Punishment for a capital felony is prison for life or the death penalty. If the State decides not to seek the death penalty, an automatic life sentence is imposed upon the conviction. If the State seeks the death penalty, the jury must answer questions that will either result in a sentence of life in prison or the death sentence.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 10:54 am and is filed under Arrest, Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.