Opinion ID: 154635
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Murder under the Major Crimes Act

Text: Under the Major Crimes Act, any Indian who commits murder within Indian country is subject to the same “law and any penalties as all other persons committing” murder, within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 1153(b); see also 18 U.S.C. § 3242 (providing that Indians prosecuted under the Major Crimes Act “shall be tried in the same courts and in the same manner as are all other persons committing such offense within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States”). 6 “Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.” 18 U.S.C. § 1111(a). First-degree murder includes any kind of “willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing.” Id. Any other murder is second-degree murder. Id. Although Mr. Swallow was charged with four counts of first-degree murder, the jury found Mr. Swallow guilty of second-degree murder for the deaths of Cleo and Ethan Swallow.