1. A person commits the offense of attempt to commit murder when, with the intent to cause the death of another person and not under circumstances which would justify the person’s actions, the person does any act by which the person expects to set in motion a force or chain of events which will cause or result in the death of the other person.

Attorney's Note

Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class B felonyup to 25 years
For details, see Iowa Code902.9
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 707.11

  • Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. Attempt to commit murder is a class “B” felony.
 3. It is not a defense to an indictment for attempt to commit murder that the acts proved could not have caused the death of any person, provided that the actor intended to cause the death of some person by so acting, and the actor’s expectations were not unreasonable in the light of the facts known to the actor.
 4. For purposes of determining whether the person should register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of chapter 692A, the fact finder shall make a determination as provided in section 692A.126.
 5. a. As used in this subsection, “peace officer” means the same as defined in section 801.4.

 b. For purposes of determining the category of sentence under section 903A.2, the fact finder shall determine whether the attempt to commit murder was committed against a peace officer, with the knowledge that the person against whom the attempt to commit murder was committed was a peace officer acting in the officer’s official capacity.
 c. If the fact finder determines the attempt to commit murder was against a peace officer as described in paragraph “b”, the person shall serve one hundred percent of the term of confinement imposed and shall be denied parole, work release, or other early release.