Louisiana Felony

In terms of criminal law, felonies are the most severe classification. Typically a person is arrested for a felony crime when that crime rises to the level of inflicting serious personal injury, death or loss of property. Many states across the country have created classifications for their felonies and assigned them letters such as Class A felony, Class B felony, etc. However, Louisiana does not make the same distinctions for felonies committed in the state. Instead they have set forth specific descriptions and sentencing guide lines for these crimes. The following is the list of what Louisiana considers to be major felony crimes.

First Degree Murder: This type of Louisiana felony applies to persons who is convicted of willfully and intentionally planning and carrying out a murder. The punishment is death or life imprisonment with hard labor and without the benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence if this was determined by the jury in the case.

Second Degree Murder: A second degree murder charge is usually applied to crimes of passion when a murder occurs in "the heat of the moment." If you are convicted of this felony you can be sentence to life in prison without parole and subjected to hard labor.

Aggravated Rape: This felony concerns a person convicted of rape that resulted in severe bodily harm of the victim. The punishment for this Louisiana felony is life in prison without parole and with hard labor. Under special circumstances such as a minor under the age of 13, the state can seek the death penalty.

Manslaughter: A person found guilty of manslaughter has often caused the death of another person through neglect but not intentionally. The sentence for this felony crime is a prison term of not more then forty years of hard labor. Special circumstances for this felony also arise according to the age of the victim. If the victim is under ten years, the minimum sentence will be ten years of hard labor up to forty years.

First Degree Robbery: A robbery felony occurs when the items stolen are over $500 in value. The range of prison sentence for this Louisiana felony is three to forty years of hard labor depending on the judge and circumstances.

Theft, Third Offense: This proverbial three strikes felony law applies to the third robbery offence and comes with a punishment of up to twenty years in prison.

Third DUI: For a third DUI the convicted can face a minimum of 45 days up to five years in jail and a fine as high as $2,000.

Battery of a Police Officer: Assaulting a police officer that results in an injury requiring medical attention is consider a felony in Louisiana and punishable up to five years of hard labor.

Unless your criminal record is officially expunged, your Louisiana felony conviction will remain on your record. You can file an application for the court to have your felony expunged but it depends on the circumstances whether or not it will be granted. In the case of sexual assault of a minor under the age of 17 there will be no expungement.

See also:
Louisiana Misdemeanor External link (opens in new window)
Louisiana Expungement External link (opens in new window)
Louisiana Gun Laws External link (opens in new window)