Section 16-5-1 - Murder; malice murder; felony murder; murder in the second degree(a) A person commits the offense of murder when he unlawfully and with malice aforethought, either express or implied, causes the death of another human being.(b) Express malice is that deliberate intention unlawfully to take the life of another human being which is manifested by external circumstances capable of proof. Malice shall be implied where no considerable provocation appears and where all the circumstances of the killing show an abandoned and malignant heart.(c) A person commits the offense of murder when, in the commission of a felony, he or she causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.(d) A person commits the offense of murder in the second degree when, in the commission of cruelty to children in the second degree, he or she causes the death of another human being irrespective of malice.(e)(1) A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life.(2) A person convicted of the offense of murder in the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 30 years.Amended by 2014 Ga. Laws 577,§ 1-1, eff. 7/1/2014.Amended by 2009 Ga. Laws 62,§ 1, eff. 4/29/2009.