KATHY COSTIN, MARYLAND: Hello, my name is Kathy Costin, from Woodbine, Maryland, and I want to ask</s>CNN: what is meant by the term "capital murder?" And how does it differ from other murder designations?</s>ROGER COSSACK, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Capital murder is when the defendant in a murder case is facing the death penalty, as opposed to other kind of charges. Murder charges can either manslaughter or murder, which would only require, if convicted, life without possibility of parole, or some other kind of punishment. Capital murder is usually decided by statute by the states, and as long as the states designate what's a capital murder case, and what they say is within the constitution, that is it can't be based, of course, on race or gender or -- but it has to be based on the activities of the defendant. Usually, particularly heinous crimes, or murder that is committed within the course of a robbery or multiple murders, usually those are the kinds of things in which a person gets the -- would get the capital punishment or the capital murder charge. Something less than that would be -- the penalty would be life without possibility of parole.
Ask CNN: What Is Capital Murder?