Most lenient would be South Dakota. Most stringent would be Washington, D.C.
The state prosecutes a murder.
A first degree murder charge gets you life w/o parole in most cases.
Murder is the most serious of crimes. In Virginia, there is no statute of limitations for murder.
I cannot think of a single one. The crime of rape is heinous offense and a crime of moral turpitude in every state. .
in most jurisdictions, there is no statute of limitations for murder.
Most places will not have a statute of limitations on murder. Even without evidence, they will continue to search for the perpetrator.
The answer to what I think you're asking is, it depends on your local/state laws. For example, the state of Tennessee has a law that will protect you in most cases if it was self defense, even with a gun that you illegally possessed. I don't think most states have that law.
as too lenient.
The most that a handyman can charge in the state of California is $500 dollars. This is if the handyman is not licensed.
Under those circumstances, most states would propbably charge Manslaughter, in addition to whatever other crime was being committed at the time. UNLESS - the intent was to commit murder in the first place, then it would be homicide. Many states have what is referred to as the Felony Murder Rule. Any death that results from the commission of a felony is considered Murder and can be punished as if it was pre-meditated or first degree murder. You will have to investigate the criminal code for the state in question.
If that person dies due to the injuries cause from the attempted murder then you can be charged with murder. But if you are convicted of attempted murder prior to that, double jeopardy would prevent you from being convicted of murder