§ 2–201
Statutes in effect as of October 1, 2026.
Md. Code Ann., Crim. Law § 2-201 (2026)
Title 2. Homicide
Subtitle 2. Murder and Manslaughter
§ 2–201LinkCopy Citation
(a)
A murder is in the first degree if it is:
(1)
a deliberate, premeditated, and willful killing;
(2)
committed by lying in wait;
(3)
committed by poison; or
(4)
committed in the perpetration of or an attempt to perpetrate:
(i)
arson in the first degree;
(ii)
burning a barn, stable, tobacco house, warehouse, or other outbuilding that:
(1)
is not parcel to a dwelling; and
(2)
contains cattle, goods, wares, merchandise, horses, grain, hay, or tobacco;
(iii)
burglary in the first, second, or third degree;
(iv)
carjacking or armed carjacking;
(v)
escape in the first degree from a State correctional facility or a local correctional facility;
(vi)
kidnapping under § 3–502 or § 3–503(a)(2) of this article;
(vii)
mayhem;
(viii)
rape;
(ix)
robbery under § 3–402 or § 3–403 of this article;
(x)
sexual offense in the first or second degree;
(xi)
sodomy as that crime existed before October 1, 2020; or
(xii)
a violation of § 4–503 of this article concerning destructive devices.
(b)
(1)
A person who commits a murder in the first degree is guilty of a felony and on conviction shall be sentenced to:
(i)
imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole; or
(ii)
imprisonment for life.
(2)
Unless a sentence of imprisonment for life without the possibility of parole is imposed in compliance with § 2–203 of this subtitle and § 2–304 of this title, the sentence shall be imprisonment for life.
(c)
A person who solicits another or conspires with another to commit murder in the first degree is guilty of murder in the first degree if the death of another occurs as a result of the solicitation or conspiracy.