[scoot]

a bit further, you're absolutely correct; it seems the US has a more nuanced definition of murder, for which any of the three definitions of second degree murder could potentially apply in this case[1]:

  - A killing done impulsively without premeditation, but with malice aforethought
  - A killing that results from an act intended to cause serious bodily harm
  - A killing that results from an act that demonstrates the perpetrators depraved indifference to human life

As for my original point, that just makes the aquittal even more shocking!

[1] http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/second-degree-m...

[dragonwriter]

Note that the US does not have a single definition of murder; there are loose common guidelines, but each jurisdiction within the U.S. has its own, slightly different, definition of each form of murder. The specific statutes matter a lot in actual cases even if they get ignored in general discussion, as do the actual charges filed. The fact that another form of murder exists that could have been supported based on the trial evidence will not save a conviction on appeal if the appellate court feels the evidence cannot reasonably support a conviction for the specific form of murder actually charged.