Murder Plot and Attempt Crimes Defense in Oklahoma

Murder plot and attempt charges focus on planning and trying to kill, even when no one dies. Prosecutors treat these cases almost as seriously as completed homicides, because they claim you crossed the line from anger or talk into action.

Because these charges sit near the top of the Oklahoma homicide crimes ladder, you face long felony exposure and intense scrutiny. Evidence often comes from texts, recordings, informants, or partial steps toward a killing, which can be messy, misleading, or taken out of context.

Quick links

• Overview
• What these cases have in common
• How prosecutors charge these cases
• Crimes in this group
• Defense strategies
• Key terms
• FAQs

Talk to a defense lawyer early

If you’ve been accused of murder plot and attempt crimes in Oklahoma, you’re already fighting uphill. Early legal help can protect evidence, lock in your side of the story, and push back before charging decisions harden.

If you’ve been accused of any murder plot or attempt crime in Oklahoma, reach out for a free consultation to discuss your options before you make statements or decisions that can’t be undone. Call us at 405-633-3420 or use our secure online form.

What murder plot and attempt cases have in common

All of these charges center on intent to kill. The State claims you meant for someone to die and either tried to make it happen or pushed someone else to do it. You may be accused of recruiting a killer, making a detailed plan, taking steps toward a shooting, or using poison.

These cases usually involve some combination of three ideas: serious intent, agreement or communication with others, and actions that move a plan forward. However, the evidence can be thin. Texts may be dark jokes, venting, or fantasy. Informants may hope for deals. Police may push conversations during stings and try to turn casual talk into “proof” of a murder plot.

Because these crimes sit so close to murder on the legal spectrum, the State often argues for aggressive bonds, strict conditions, and long sentences. A focused defense can reframe the case away from “plan to kill” toward what actually happened.

How prosecutors charge murder plot and attempt cases

Prosecutors rarely file just one count in a serious murder plot or attempt case. They often stack related charges like conspiracy, solicitation, attempt, and sometimes weapons or drug counts. You might see an attempted murder count plus a conspiracy count and separate allegations tied to the same alleged plan.

Solicitation and conspiracy sometimes overlap. The law doesn’t let the State secure convictions for both solicitation and conspiracy based on the same agreement, but prosecutors may still charge both and let the jury sort it out. They might also pair attempt counts with underlying homicide theories, such as intentional murder or felony murder based on another felony in the background.

Poison cases can appear as stand-alone felonies or as part of broader homicide filings. In some situations, prosecutors start with maximum charges and later negotiate. Because of that, strong early defense work can affect not just guilt or innocence, but also which charges stay on the table.

Murder plot and attempt crimes in this group

Solicitation for Murder in the First Degree

Under Oklahoma law, solicitation for murder in the first degree (21 O.S. § 701.16) targets people who allegedly urge someone else to kill. The State doesn’t have to prove that the killing actually happened. It claims you asked, pushed, or hired another person to commit first-degree murder with the intent that the killing occur.

Evidence often comes from recorded conversations, texts, or statements from the person you supposedly recruited. However, words can be vague, sarcastic, or fueled by emotion. A key fight in these cases is whether the State can show a serious request to commit murder, not just angry talk or wild fantasizing.

Conspiracy to Commit Murder

Conspiracy to commit murder relies on an alleged agreement between two or more people to kill someone, usually under 21 O.S. § 421. The State must prove an agreement to commit a specific crime and at least one overt act to move that agreement forward. That overt act may be as simple as buying supplies, scouting a location, or sending a confirming message.

Conspiracy charges often appear alongside attempt or solicitation. Prosecutors like conspiracy because they can use conversations and planning steps as the core of the case, even if no one is hurt. Your defense can challenge whether there was a real agreement, whether the act was truly in furtherance of a killing, or whether the supposed co-conspirator is inflating your involvement.

Attempted Murder

Attempted murder rests on the idea that you intended to kill and took a substantial step toward that killing, but the death didn’t occur. Oklahoma’s attempt framework appears in 21 O.S. § 44 and 21 O.S. § 42, which work together to define attempt and set out punishment rules. The State still has to prove the elements of the underlying murder theory, such as intent to kill or a felony-murder basis.

Attempted murder cases often grow out of shootings, stabbings, or other acts that cause injury but don’t result in death. They may also involve “failed” poisonings or interrupted attacks. Defenses often focus on whether there was an actual intent to kill, whether the act was truly a step toward a killing, and whether the evidence supports a lesser offense.

Poison with Intent to Kill

Poison with intent to kill (21 O.S. § 651) covers situations where someone allegedly administers or causes poison to be given to another with the purpose of causing death, but the person survives. The law focuses on the dangerous act and the intent behind it, even if the poison doesn’t work as expected.

These cases can involve medications, chemicals, or other substances claimed to be “poison.” The science and medical proof matter a lot. A defense may question whether the substance was actually poison, whether it was given in a way that could realistically kill, and whether the State can prove a clear intent to cause death instead of a lesser level of harm.

Defense strategies for murder plot and attempt crimes in Oklahoma

Every case is different, but some defense themes appear again and again in murder plot and attempt prosecutions. The details of your situation, your messages, and your relationships with witnesses will shape which strategies make sense.

• Challenge intent. The State must show you meant for someone to die. You can often argue that you never intended a killing, that you meant only to scare, or that you were joking, venting, or speaking in anger.
• Attack the alleged agreement. Conspiracy charges depend on a real agreement plus an overt act. You can dispute whether there was any actual meeting of the minds, or argue that the act prosecutors point to doesn’t truly move a murder plan forward.
• Reframe words that look like solicitation. Prosecutors may treat exaggerated or reckless speech as a serious request to kill. Context, tone, history between the people, and missing parts of conversations can show that the words weren’t a genuine push for murder.
• Expose informant and cooperator motives. Many murder plot and attempt cases depend on informants, co-defendants, or undercover officers. You can highlight deals, bias, inconsistent stories, and the ways law enforcement steered the conversation to make a plan look worse than it was.
• Use evidence and constitutional challenges. Strong defense work often targets search warrants, wiretaps, phone extractions, and interrogation tactics. Suppressing illegally obtained evidence or limiting what the jury hears can reshape the entire case.

Key terms in murder plot and attempt cases

Attempt

Attempt means that, acting with the kind of culpability otherwise required for the crime, a person either purposely engages in conduct that would be the crime if circumstances were as they believed, or takes action with the purpose or belief that it will cause a required result, even if more steps are needed. (21 O.S. § 44)

Soliciting

Soliciting is urging, requesting or commanding another to commit a criminal act. (jury instruction 4-90)

Overt act

An overt act is any act performed by a member of a conspiracy that is done to further or carry out the agreement, or that would naturally help accomplish the object of the conspiracy. (jury instruction 2-18)

Criminally injurious conduct

Criminally injurious conduct means a misdemeanor or felony that occurs or is attempted in Oklahoma, or against an eligible Oklahoma resident elsewhere, which results in bodily injury, a threat of bodily injury, or death to a victim and is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or death, or would lead a child to be adjudicated delinquent. (21 O.S. § 142.3)

Great bodily injury

Great bodily injury means bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, causes serious permanent disfigurement, or causes protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. (jury instruction 6-30)

FAQs about murder plot and attempt crimes in Oklahoma

Is planning a killing without taking action still a crime in Oklahoma?

It can be. If prosecutors prove that you seriously urged someone else to kill or entered an actual agreement to do it, they may charge solicitation or conspiracy in Oklahoma even if no physical step happens yet and no one is hurt.

What makes a failed attack count as attempted murder in Oklahoma?

Attempted murder in Oklahoma usually requires three ideas together. You must have intended to kill, taken a substantial step toward that killing, and failed to complete it. Shots fired, serious stabbings, or dangerous poison attempts can all lead to attempt charges if prosecutors believe those elements exist.

Can text messages alone support a murder plot case in Oklahoma?

Text messages can provide important evidence in an Oklahoma murder plot case, but they rarely stand alone. Courts and juries also look at context, timing, who started the conversation, what happened afterward, and whether the State can show a real plan instead of venting or dark humor.

How is a poison with intent to kill charge different from other Oklahoma homicide charges?

A poison with intent to kill case in Oklahoma focuses on knowingly giving or causing poison with the purpose of causing death, where the person survives. Other homicide charges may involve weapons, hands-on violence, or deaths that actually occur. The proof often turns on medical evidence and what you knew about the substance.

Why did I get both conspiracy and attempted murder charges in Oklahoma?

Prosecutors in Oklahoma often file multiple charges from the same alleged conduct. Conspiracy targets the agreement and any overt act toward a killing. Attempt focuses on the step toward actually carrying out the killing. Your defense can challenge whether both legal theories fit the facts and whether the evidence supports each element.