Question

Most states today have four main types of criminal homicide. Define and discuss these and provide examples.

Answer 1

Murder- Typically, murder is further broken down into several sub-categories. First and second degree killing are the most common. Murder in the first degree is the most serious of all charges of murder. This refers in cases where someone is suspected after planning to kill the victim of killing another person. It requires malice (evil intent) and preliminary thinking (planning). Such cases are generally considered among the most heinous crimes and as such, the most severe penalties are usually reserved for these convictions, including life in prison or the death penalty.

Second-degree murder, on the other hand, usually applies in situations where someone may have intended to kill someone else but did not have time to prepare it (a passion crime). For example, a husband who flies into rage and kills his wife when he comes home to find her in bed with another man might be a second-degree assassination. Some states also apply the second-degree murder label to situations where someone's actions were so wanton and reckless that someone else's death was readily predictable, even if killing someone wasn't the intention, such as driving in a crowd of people at speed.

Manslaughter- Manslaughter charges are reserved for cases where the defendant did not plan the crime, nor did he or she intend to kill the victim for his or her acts. Manslaughter charges usually result from accidental circumstances in which a person died as a result of the incident. For example, a doctor who prescribes medications that can cause a person to have a lethal experience, a parent who leaves a baby in a hot car, or a driver who causes a fatal car accident. Sentences for those convicted of murder vary widely depending on the laws of the state and the circumstances of the event in question but are typically somewhat less than second-degree homicide.

Justifiable Homicide- Situations where an individual killed another in self-defense or similar circumstances are reserved for justifiable homicide. This is not really a legal charge, but rather a classification that police can use in an event where an individual has died but no crime has been committed, or in a homicide prosecution as a defense. Because the killing was justifiable, the person who committed the killing will not be held criminally liable for death, although, under certain circumstances, civil penalties may still apply.

Other Homicides- Several jurisdictions have created many types of crimes of homicide. Another modern trend, for example, is the allegation of felony murder. A person has died in felony murder while the defendant was involved in a crime commission, but the defendant did not actually cause the death. For instance, if several people storm for an armed robbery in a convenience store and one of them shoots the cashier, killing him, the other two may be charged with felony murder even though they have not actually killed anyone. The laws of states are constantly evolving and diverging, so that other forms of homicide may occur or may emerge in the future.