Depraved-heart murder, also known as depraved-indifference murder, is an American legal term

Law of the United States

The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...

 for an action that demonstrates a "callous disregard for human life" and results in death. In most states, depraved heart killings constitute second-degree murder.

If no death results, such acts would generally be defined as reckless endangerment and possibly other crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

s, such as assault

Assault

In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...

.

Common law background

The common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

 punishes unintentional homicide

Homicide

Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...

 as murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 if the defendant commits an act of gross recklessness

Recklessness

Recklessness may be:* Recklessness , a legal term describing a person's state of mind when allegedly committing a criminal offence* Recklessness , a state of mind in which a person acts without caring what the consequences may be...

. A classic example of depraved-heart murder under the common law is in the case Commonwealth v. Malone

Commonwealth v. Malone

Commonwealth v. Malone, 47 A.2d 445 , was a case decided by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that affirmed the conviction of a teenager for second degree murder stemming from a game of Russian roulette.-Decision:...

, where the court affirmed the second-degree murder conviction of a teenager for a death arising from a game of Russian roulette

Russian roulette

Russian roulette is a potentially lethal game of chance in which participants place a single round in a revolver, spin the cylinder, place the muzzle against their head and pull the trigger...

.

Under the Model Penal Code

Depraved-heart murder is recognized in the Model Penal Code

Model Penal Code

The Model Penal Code is a statutory text which was developed by the American Law Institute in 1962. The Chief Reporter on the project was Herbert Wechsler. The current form of the MPC was last updated in 1981. The purpose of the MPC was to stimulate and assist legislatures in making an effort to...

§ 210.2(1)(b). The Model Penal Code considers unintentional killing to constitute murder when the conduct of the defendant manifests "extreme indifference to the value of human life".