In the Hinton case, the death penalty was taken off the table because the court-appointed forensic psychologist prior to the trial, determined Hinton suffered from severe mental illness.

Count 1 of indictment for aggravated murder basically says the defendant knew the person he was killing was a law enforcement officer; Count 2 says the defendant knew the officer was engaged in his duties as an officer when he was killed. That's the difference between the two.

Difference btwn "Standard" murder/"Aggravated" murder is enhancements - in this case victim being 1) officer; 2) officer in commission of duties. In re punishments, Agg murder is life w/o parole + possible death penalty; Std murder is life w/parole after 15yrs+, judge's choice.

The 2nd day of jury deliberations in the Rodney Hinton Jr murder trial began with a question to the judge from the jurors. They wanted to know the difference between Cts 1&2 of the indictment, both aggravated murder. @Local12