1. A person commits murder in the first degree when the person commits murder under any of the following circumstances:

 a. The person willfully, deliberately, and with premeditation kills another person.
 b. The person kills another person while participating in a forcible felony.
 c. The person kills another person while escaping or attempting to escape from lawful custody.
 d. The person intentionally kills a peace officer, correctional officer, public employee, or hostage while the person is imprisoned in a correctional institution under the jurisdiction of the Iowa department of corrections, or in a city or county jail.
 e. The person kills a child while committing child endangerment under section 726.6, subsection 1, paragraph “b”, or while committing assault under section 708.1 upon the child, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life.
 f. The person kills another person while participating in an act of terrorism as defined in section 708A.1.

Attorney's Note

Under the Iowa Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class A felonylife
For details, see Iowa Code902.1
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 707.2

  • Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • 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. Murder in the first degree is a class “A” felony.
 3. For purposes of determining whether a 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.