Attempted murder in Indiana is a Level 1 felony punishable by 20 to 40 years in prison, with an advisory sentence of 30 years and a possible fine of up to $10,000. To convict, prosecutors must prove the defendant specifically intended to kill and took a substantial step toward doing so. Firearm use and prior felonies can push the exposure well past 40 years, and the conviction carries lifelong consequences for voting, gun rights, immigration status, and employment.
What the State Has to Prove
Indiana’s attempt statute, Indiana Code 35-41-5-1, applies to any crime, but it singles out attempted murder as a Level 1 felony regardless of the classification rules that govern other attempts.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-5-1 – Attempt Two elements have to be proven.
The first is intent. Because murder in Indiana means knowingly or intentionally killing another person, an attempt charge demands the same mental state. Intending to injure, scare, or hurt someone badly is not enough. The prosecution has to show the defendant’s purpose was to cause death.2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-42-1-1 – Murder
The second is a substantial step. Indiana courts treat this as a low threshold: any overt act that goes beyond preparation and strongly corroborates the intent to kill. Buying a weapon and traveling to a victim’s location, stalking a target, or making statements about a plan can all qualify. The Indiana Supreme Court held in Zickefoose v. State that courts look at what the defendant actually did, not what remained undone, and that the intent to kill can be inferred from using a deadly weapon in a way likely to cause death.3Justia. Zickefoose v State, 388 NE2d 507
Firing a gun at someone’s chest supports a lethal-intent inference much more easily than swinging at someone in a bar fight. That gap is where these cases are won and lost.
The Sentence
A Level 1 felony carries a fixed term of 20 to 40 years, an advisory sentence of 30 years, and a fine of up to $10,000.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-4 – Class A Felony; Level 1 Felony The advisory number is where the judge starts before adjusting for the facts. Even the floor of 20 years is enormous, and two common circumstances push the ceiling far higher.
Firearm Enhancement
If prosecutors prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly or intentionally used a firearm during the offense, the court may add 5 to 20 years on top of the base sentence. The same enhancement applies when the firearm was pointed at or discharged at someone the defendant knew or should have known was a police officer. With the enhancement stacked, attempted murder with a firearm can reach 60 years.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-11 – Firearm Used in Commission of Offense
Habitual Offender Enhancement
A defendant with two or more prior unrelated felony convictions, at least one more serious than a Level 6 or former Class D felony, can be found to be a habitual offender. For a Level 1 felony, that finding adds another 8 to 20 years, and that additional term cannot be suspended.6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-8 – Habitual Offenders A habitual offender convicted of attempted murder with a firearm could, in theory, receive up to 80 years.
What Pushes a Sentence Up or Down
Indiana judges work from a structured list of aggravating and mitigating factors, and the final sentence has to reflect the balance between them.
Aggravating factors that commonly appear in attempted murder cases include a prior criminal history, a victim who was under 12 or at least 65 or had a disability, commission of the crime in the presence of a child under 18, violation of a protective or no-contact order, and harm to the victim significantly greater than what the offense technically requires.7Justia. Indiana Code Title 35, Article 38, Chapter 1 – Entry of Judgment and Sentencing
Mitigating factors work the other way. A clean record, provocation by the victim, substantial grounds that tend to excuse the conduct even if they fall short of a legal defense, undue hardship to dependents from incarceration, restitution paid to the victim, or a showing that the defendant is likely to respond to rehabilitation can all push the sentence closer to the 20-year floor.
Defenses
Most defenses to attempted murder attack the intent element or raise an independent legal justification.
Lack of Specific Intent
This is the most common approach. If the evidence shows the defendant meant to injure, scare, or threaten but not to kill, the charge should not stand. A shot fired into the air during an argument is a different case from a shot fired directly at someone’s torso. Defense attorneys work on inconsistencies in the evidence, the circumstances of the act, and whether the prosecution’s theory of intent is the only reasonable one. Reasonable doubt about whether the goal was death, rather than some lesser harm, means the jury should not convict.
Self-Defense
Indiana’s self-defense statute is broad. A person may use reasonable force to protect themselves or someone else from what they reasonably believe is the imminent use of unlawful force, and Indiana imposes no duty to retreat. Deadly force is justified if the person reasonably believes it necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or a forcible felony.8Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-2 – Use of Force to Protect Person or Property The belief has to be one a reasonable person in the same situation would share. Excessive or retaliatory force undermines the defense.
Voluntary Abandonment
Indiana recognizes voluntary abandonment as a defense to attempt charges. The defendant must have voluntarily given up the effort to commit murder and voluntarily prevented it from happening.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-10 – Abandonment Both parts matter. Putting down a weapon and leaving of one’s own accord is abandonment. Fleeing because police arrived is not.
Insanity and Guilty but Mentally Ill
Indiana allows two mental-state approaches. Under the insanity defense, a defendant is not criminally responsible if, due to a severe mental disease or defect, they were unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct at the time. The statute defines “mental disease or defect” narrowly and specifies that it cannot be established solely by a pattern of criminal or antisocial behavior.10Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-41-3-6 – Mental Disease or Defect
A “guilty but mentally ill” verdict is a separate option. The defendant receives the same sentence they would have received on a guilty verdict, but the Department of Correction must evaluate and treat the mental illness during incarceration.11Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-36-2-5 – Finding or Plea of Guilty but Mentally Ill It fits cases where the defendant was mentally ill at the time of the crime but does not meet the higher insanity threshold.
Plea Bargaining
Most attempted murder cases in Indiana resolve through plea negotiations. The defendant may plead guilty to the original charge in exchange for a sentencing recommendation, or plead to a lesser offense entirely. The prosecution avoids the cost and uncertainty of trial; the defendant may receive a significantly lighter sentence than a jury would impose after conviction.
Any plea agreement needs judicial approval. The court confirms the plea is voluntary and the defendant understands the consequences, and evaluates whether the agreement serves the interests of justice. Judges do reject plea deals they consider too lenient, particularly in violent cases where the victim suffered serious injuries. The quality of defense counsel at this stage often shapes the outcome more than any other factor in the case.
Life After a Conviction
A conviction is a felony that follows a person for life and reaches well past the prison sentence.
Voting
Indiana strips voting rights from anyone imprisoned for a criminal conviction, but restores them upon discharge. When a person is released from incarceration, the Department of Correction must inform them in writing of their right to register to vote. Eligibility returns once the full sentence, including parole or probation, is complete.12Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 11-10-12-4 – Certification of Discharge; Informing
Firearms
Firearm rights are harder to get back. Under Indiana law, a convicted felon is not a “proper person” to receive a handgun license. Federal law adds a separate ban: 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g) prohibits anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year of imprisonment from possessing any firearm or ammunition.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 Attempted murder’s 20-to-40-year range triggers that federal ban clearly.
Restoring Indiana firearm rights generally requires expungement, which resets the person’s status as a “proper person” for licensing. The federal ban operates independently, though. A state expungement does not automatically lift the federal prohibition, and people routinely receive bad advice on that point.
Immigration
For non-citizens, the conviction is devastating. Federal law classifies murder as an “aggravated felony,” and separately classifies any attempt to commit an aggravated felony as itself an aggravated felony.14Legal Information Institute. 8 USC 1101(a)(43) – Aggravated Felony An aggravated felony conviction makes a non-citizen deportable, bars nearly all forms of relief from removal, and permanently prevents future admission to the United States.
Employment and Housing
A violent felony record shows up on background checks. Employers in fields involving vulnerable populations, financial responsibility, or security clearances typically disqualify applicants with attempted murder convictions. Landlords screen for violent felonies. Professional licensing boards in healthcare, law, education, and finance routinely deny licenses to applicants with serious violent felony histories. These day-to-day barriers often prove more limiting than the formal legal disabilities do.