Murder in Wisconsin law constitutes the intentional killing, under circumstances defined by law, of people within or under the jurisdiction of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
[1] In 2003, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the year and a day rule in the case before it, but simultaneously abolished the rule for any later cases, noting the modern circumstances of homicide cases, in which there is "the specter of a family's being forced to choose between terminating the use of a life-support system and allowing an accused to escape a murder charge" and the court's finding that it is "unjust to permit an assailant to escape punishment because of a convergence of modern medical advances and an archaic rule from the thirteenth century".
Second-degree intentional homicide is punished by a maximum of 40 years in prison.
Generally, the statute applies to dangerous felonies, felonies that have a propensity to cause great bodily harm, or those that involve a dangerous weapon or even a facade of a weapon.
First-degree reckless homicide is defined as recklessly causing the death of another human being under circumstances which show utter disregard for human life.