Is capital murder the same thing as first degree murder?

Answer 1

"Capital" murder means that if the defendant is found guilty, there is the possibility of him or her being executed for the crime (which is called "capital punishment"). "First degree" usually means that the murder was premeditated (planned substantially ahead of time), though there are a number of other things that can make an unpremeditated murder "first degree", such as killing a police officer. In some states, (e.g. California, New York), the premeditation of a crime can "become" the premeditation of the murder if anyone accidently dies during the commission of that crime. For instance, if someone premeditates arson, say, to collect insurance, and somebody else dies as a result of the fire, the death can be considered premeditated murder even though the criminal only premeditated arson. You might think that all capital cases are first-degree murder, but that is only mostly true. I believe Texas will execute rapists under some circumstances (if they rape young children). And of course, some states will not execute regardless of how heinous the crime may be. I guess by the traditional definition of "capital", those states therefore have no capital murders.