There are different punishments for murder. The murder punishment receive by one person may be quite different from that of another person. This is because each murder can have its own charges, and these charges can be different, depending on where you live in the United States. The murder punishment for first-degree murder will generally be a prison term of about five to ten years. The murder punishment for second-degree murder will usually be a prison term of anywhere from fifteen years all the way to fifty years. The murder punishment for third-degree murder is prison for life, or the death penalty. The death penalty is also known as capital punishment and execution, and is the type of murder punishment all attorneys and their criminal clients try to avoid.