Is it ever possible to get out of a murder charge?

In order to get out of a murder charge, just like any other charge, you need to have substantial evidence proving you did not commit the crime.

One major defense for a murder charge is "self-defense" which states the person killed the other person in "fear of their" life being threatened and in the "heat of the moment." This would require quite a bit of proof and if the defense is accepted in court, depending on that states criminal laws, you could recieve a much lesser charge of perhaps manslaughter. Defenses for a manslaughter conviction also include pure accidents which caused the unintended death. This charge can have a penalty as low as a misdemeanor and 1 year in jail.

Other defenses include 2nd degree murder, where the homicide was not premeditated and just sort of happend in the moment. Also, many murder suspects have also plead insanity and other such reasons to get less severe convictions.

Each state also has their own statutes on what they consider as punishable by either life in prison, and/or the death penalty. Over time, the trend has been that more and more states have been abondoning the death penalty. However, the majority of the states, while 14 do not. Here is a list of States with and Without Death Penalty.