Prominent Orchard Park muslim man charged with beheading his wife

[Ben Yehuda]

http://www.buffalonews.com/437/story/578644.html

[briann]

Yes... we talked about this.   He apparently was the founder of an american based Muslim television network.

[Ben Yehuda]

Yeah, I especially liked the part about how his company's goal was to paint islam in a more moderate light.

[HiWarp]

Police identified the victim as Aasiya Z. Hassan, 37. Detectives have charged her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, 44, with second-degree murder.

I'm a bit confused here.  How is beheading your wife not first degree murder?  Perhaps some criminal lawyer (or potential lawyer) may be able to shed some light on this.

[Ben Yehuda]

That's a good point. I think 1st degree is premeditated, while 2nd degree is not. However, in this case, it would seem that if you beheaded someone, you probably gave it some thought beforehand.