10 U.S.C. § 918

Art. 118. Murder

Any person subject to this chapter who, without justification or excuse, unlawfully kills a human being, when such person—

(1)

has a premeditated design to kill;

(2)

intends to kill or inflict great bodily harm;

(3)

is engaged in an act which is inherently dangerous to another and evinces a wanton disregard of human life; or

(4)

is engaged in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of burglary, rape, rape of a child, sexual assault, sexual assault of a child, aggravated sexual contact, sexual abuse of a child, robbery, or aggravated arson;

is guilty of murder, and shall suffer such punishment as a court-martial may direct, except that if found guilty under clause (1) or (4), such person shall suffer death or imprisonment for life as a court-martial may direct, unless such person is otherwise sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement entered into between the parties under section 853a of this title (article 53a).

( Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041 , 70A Stat. 72 ; Pub. L. 102–484, div. A, title X, § 1066(b) , Oct. 23, 1992 , 106 Stat. 2506 ; Pub. L. 109–163, div. A, title V, § 552(d) , Jan. 6, 2006 , 119 Stat. 3263 ; Pub. L. 112–81, div. A, title V, § 541(d)(2) , Dec. 31, 2011 , 125 Stat. 1410 ; Pub. L. 113–291, div. A, title V, § 531(d)(2)(B) , Dec. 19, 2014 , 128 Stat. 3364 ; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5428 , Dec. 23, 2016 , 130 Stat. 2949 ; Pub. L. 118–31, div. A, title V, § 531(a) , Dec. 22, 2023 , 137 Stat. 257 .)