Question

Explain the difference between homicide, murder (criminal homicide), justifiable and excusable homicide. Give examples of situations when you think murder can be justified or excused. Explain your reasoning.

Answer 1

• The terms murder and homicide are frequently interchanged; however, there is a difference between the two. Homicide is the killing of one person by another. Murder is a form of criminal homicide, where the perpetrator intended to kill the other person, sometimes with premeditation (a plan to kill).  Manslaughter is another type of criminal homicide.
• Homicides are criminal, excusable, or justifiable. A criminal homicide is unjustifiable, with consequences being severe.
• An excusable or justifiable homicide is one without criminal intent to kill someone. Examples of excusable or justifiable homicide would be someone killing someone else as a means of self defense, or defending another person, or law enforcement who kills someone in the line of duty.
• A justifiable homicide is a homicide that is commanded or authorized by law. For instance, soldiers in a time of war may be commanded to kill enemy soldiers. Generally, such killings are considered justifiable homicide unless other circumstances suggest that they were not necessary or that they were not within the scope of the soldiers' duty.
• Excusable homicide is sometimes distinguished from justifiable homicide on the basis that it involves some fault on the part of the person who ultimately uses deadly force. For instance, if a person provokes a fight and subsequently withdraws from it but, out of necessity and in self-defense, ultimately kills the other person, the homicide is sometimes classified as excusable, rather than justifiable.
• Generally, however, the distinction between justifiable homicide and excusable homicide has largely disappeared, and only the term justifiable homicide is widely used.
• Criminal homicide is when a person unlawfully kills another person with the intention of doing harm to that person. Criminal homicide also includes unintentional killings, where an innocent dies by accident. In many jurisdictions, criminal homicide automatically calls for capital punishment.
• Murder, voluntary/involuntary manslaughter and assisting someone in suicide are all considered to be criminal homicide. However, the punishments for each differ depending on the circumstances.
• Murders are classified in different degrees depending on the gravity of the crime and the intent of the perpetrator. The classifications of murder are first degree, second degree, and third degree or manslaughter. Some states do not use the classification of third degree murder.
• In first degree murder, there is premeditation and cruelty with afterthought. In California, a killing that may not have been intentional but happened because of a crime such as rape, robbery, arson, or kidnapping may be considered first degree murder. A murder with the use of a deadly weapon such as a gun will increase the jail term for the perpetrator.
• Second degree murder is similar; however, it shows no premeditation. Manslaughter or third degree murder is an act to harm someone that results in death.
• Most societies consider murder as one of the most serious crimes a person is capable of and it is a crime worthy of the harshest of punishment. This usually entails a life imprisonment, or in some countries, the death penalty. The seriousness of the crime is measured by the intent of the murderer, with the direst punishment reserved for first degree.
• No,murder cannot be justified or excused. Murder under the common law is the unjustified, illegal killing of a fellow human being. As such the definition itself eliminates the issue of justification. If the killing of a fellow human being is justified it cannot be murder. Killing someone (like in self defense) can be justified. That is not murder.