A.

Introduction

Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human

being with intent (or malice aforethought), and generally this state of mind distinguishes

murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). As the loss of a

human being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close to the victim, as well as

the fact that the commission of a murder deprives the victim of their existence, most

societies both present and in antiquity have considered it a most serious crime worthy of

the harshest of punishment. A person convicted of murder is typically given a life

sentence or even the death penalty for such an act. A person who commits murder is

called a murderer ;[1] the term murderess, meaning a woman who murders, has largely

fallen into disuse.

• Why do people commit murder?

• What is the penalty when people commit murder?

Scope and Delimitation

William Blackstone (citing Edward Coke), in his Commentaries on the Laws of England

set out the common law definition of murder as

when a person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully killeth

“ ”
any reasonable creature in being and under the king's peace, with
 malice aforethought, either express or implied.[3]

The first few elements are relatively straightforward; however, the concept of "malice

aforethought" is a complex one that does not necessarily mean premeditation. The

following states of mind are recognized as constituting the various forms of "malice

aforethought":

i. Intent to kill,

ii. Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm short of death,

iii. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (sometimes

described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"), or

iv. Intent to commit a dangerous felony (the "felony-murder" doctrine).

Under state of mind (i), intent to kill, the deadly weapon rule applies. Thus, if the

defendant intentionally uses a deadly weapon or instrument against the victim, such use

authorizes a permissive inference of intent to kill. An example of a deadly weapon or

instrument is a gun, a knife, or even a car when intentionally used to strike the victim.

Under state of mind (iii), an "abandoned and malignant heart", the killing must result

from defendant's conduct involving a reckless indifference to human life and a conscious

disregard of an unreasonable risk of death or serious bodily injury. An example of this is

a 2007 law in California where an individual could be convicted of second-degree murder

if he or she kills another person while operating a motor vehicle while being under the

influence of alcohol, drugs, or controlled substances.

Under state of mind (iv), the felony-murder doctrine, the felony committed must be an

inherently dangerous felony, such as burglary, arson, rape, robbery or kidnapping.

Importantly, the underlying felony cannot be a lesser included offense such as assault,

otherwise all criminal homicides would be murder as all are felonies.

Many jurisdictions divide murder by degrees. The most common divisions are between

first and second degree murder. Generally second degree murder is common law murder

with first degree being an aggravated form. The aggravating factors that distinguish first

degree murder from second degree are first degree murder requires a specific intent to kill

and premeditation and deliberation.

Definition of terms

As with most legal terms, the precise definition of murder varies between jurisdictions

and is usually codified in some form of legislation.

At common law

According to Blackstone, English common law identified murder as a public wrong.[6] At

common law, murder is considered to be malum in se, that is an act which is evil within

itself. An act such as murder is wrong/evil by its very nature. And it is the very nature of

the act which does not require any specific detailing or definition in the law to consider

murder a crime.[7]
Some jurisdictions still take a common law view of murder. In such jurisdictions,

precedent case law or previous decisions of the courts of law defines what is considered

murder. However, it tends to be rare and the majority of jurisdictions have some statutory

prohibition against murder.

Basic elements

In common law jurisdictions, murder has two elements or parts:

1. the act (actus reus) of killing a person

2. the state of mind (mens rea) of intentional, purposeful, malicious, premeditated,

and/or wanton.

While murder is often expressed as the unlawful killing of another human being with

"malice aforethought", this element of malice may not be required in every jurisdiction

(for example, see the French definition of murder below).

• The element of malice aforethought can be satisfied by an intentional killing,

which is considered express malice.

• Malice can also be implied: deaths that occur by any recklessness or during

certain serious crimes are considered to be implied malice murders.

Exclusions

• Unlawful killings without malice or intent are considered manslaughter.

• Justified or accidental killings are considered homicides. Depending on the

circumstances, these may or may not be considered criminal offenses.

 • Suicide is not considered murder in most societies. Assisting a suicide, however,

may be considered murder in some circumstances.

• Capital punishment ordered by a legitimate court of law as the result of a

conviction in a criminal trial with due process for a serious crime.

• Killing of enemy combatants by lawful combatants in accordance with lawful

orders in war, although illicit killings within a war may constitute murder or

homicidal war crimes. (see the Laws of war article)

• The administration of lethal drugs by a doctor to a terminally ill patient, if the

intention is solely to alleviate pain, is seen in many jurisdictions as a special case

(see the doctrine of double effect and the case of Dr John Bodkin Adams).[8]

• In some cases, killing a person who is attempting to kill another can be classified

as self-defence and thus, not murder.

Victim

All jurisdictions require that the victim be a natural person; that is a human being who

was still alive at the time of being murdered. In other words, under the law, one cannot

murder a corporation, a non-human animal, or any other non-human organism.

Most jurisdictions legally distinguish killing a fetus or unborn child as a different crime,

such as illegal abortion of a fetus or the unlawful killing of an unborn child. The

distinction between a fetus and an unborn child in these jurisdictions is that a child could

survive if it had been born, while a fetus could not.[citation needed]

California's notorious murder statute, Penal Code Section 187, was interpreted by the

Supreme Court of California in 1994 as not requiring any proof of the viability of the

fetus as a prerequisite to a murder conviction.[9] This holding has two peculiar

implications. The first is that a defendant in California can be convicted for murdering a

fetus which the mother herself could legally abort under the framework established in

Roe v. Wade (1973).[9] The even stranger part of this holding, as pointed out by Justice

Stanley Mosk in dissent, is that a nonviable fetus may be so small, and thus not externally

visible, that a defendant can be convicted of intentionally murdering a person he did not

even know existed.[9]

Mitigating circumstances

Some countries allow conditions that "affect the balance of the mind" to be regarded as

mitigating circumstances. This means that a person may be found guilty of

"manslaughter" on the basis of "diminished responsibility" rather than murder, if it can be

proved that the killer was suffering from a condition that affected their judgment at the

time. Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and medication side-effects are examples

of conditions that may be taken into account when assessing responsibility.

Insanity

Mental disorder may apply to a wide range of disorders including psychosis caused by

schizophrenia and dementia, and excuse the person from the need to undergo the stress of

a trial as to liability. In some jurisdictions, following the pre-trial hearing to determine the
extent of the disorder, the defense of "not guilty by reason of insanity" may be used to get

a not guilty verdict.[10] This defense has two elements:

1. That the defendant had a serious mental illness, disease, or defect.

2. That the defendant's mental condition, at the time of the killing, rendered the

perpetrator unable to determine right from wrong, or that what he or she was

doing was wrong.

Under New York law, for example:

§ 40.15 Mental disease or defect. In any prosecution for an offense, it is an affirmative

defense that when the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct, he lacked criminal

responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect. Such lack of criminal responsibility

means that at the time of such conduct, as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacked

substantial capacity to know or appreciate either: 1. The nature and consequences of such

conduct; or 2. That such conduct was wrong.

Under the French Penal Code:

Article 122-1

• A person is not criminally liable who, when the act was committed, was suffering

from a psychological or neuropsychological disorder which destroyed his

discernment or his ability to control his actions.

• A person who, at the time he acted, was suffering from a psychological or

neuropsychological disorder which reduced his discernment or impeded his

 ability to control his actions, remains punishable; however, the court shall take

this into account when it decides the penalty and determines its regime.

Those who successfully argue a defense based on a mental disorder are usually referred

to mandatory clinical treatment until they are certified safe to be released back into the

community, rather than prison.[11]

Post-partum depression

Some countries, such as Canada, Italy, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, New

Zealand and Australia, allow postpartum depression (also known as post-natal

depression) as a defense against murder of a child by a mother, provided that a child is

less than two years old (this may be the specific offense of infanticide rather than murder

and include the effects of lactation and other aspects of post-natal care).[citation needed]

In 2009, Texas state representative Jessica Farrar proposed similar rules for her home

state.[12]

Self-defense

Acting in self-defense or in defense of another person is generally accepted as legal

justification for killing a person in situations that would otherwise have been murder.

However, a self-defense killing might be considered manslaughter if the killer established

control of the situation before the killing took place. In the case of self-defense it is called

a justifiable homicide.[13]
Unintentional

For a killing to be considered murder, there normally needs to be an element of intent.

For this argument to be successful the killer generally needs to demonstrate that they took

precautions not to kill and that the death could not have been anticipated or was

unavoidable, whatever action they took. As a general rule, manslaughter[14] constitutes

reckless killing, while criminally negligent homicide is a grossly negligent killing.[15]

Diminished capacity

In those jurisdictions using the Uniform Penal Code, such as California, diminished

capacity may be a defense. For example, Dan White used this defense[16] to obtain a

manslaughter conviction, instead of murder, in the assassination of Mayor George

Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.[citation needed]

B. Presentation Analysis and Interpretation of data

• A person convicted of murder is typically given a life sentence or even the death

penalty for such an act.

• i have found out that there are a number of different underlying facts why people

kill each other , factors such as money is a very big reason why people murder

each other , other factors are revenge , power , love , jealousy , some people just

don't see that its a wrong thing to do , they think that they are doing the right thing

IE their "religion " told them to do it.

References

1. ^ Definition of murderer in Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary (2009).

Retrieved on 2009-05-17.

2. ^ Usage note for -ess in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English

Language: Fourth Edition (2000). Retrieved on 2009-05-17.

3. ^ "Avalon Project - Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England - Book

the Fourth - Chapter the Fourteenth : Of Homicide". Avalon Project, Yale

University. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/blackstone_bk4ch14.asp.

Retrieved 2009-05-11.

4. ^ Vulgate Deuteronomy Ch27 V24

5. ^ Parallel Hebrew Old Testament Deuteronomy Ch27 V24

6. ^ Blackstone, Book 4, Chapter 14

7. ^ A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage By Bryan A. Garner, pg. 545.

8. ^ Margaret Otlowski, Voluntary Euthanasia and the Common Law, Oxford

University Press, 1997, pp. 175-177

9. ^ a b c People v. Davis, 7 Cal. 4th 797, 30 Cal. Rptr. 2d 50, 872 P.2d 591 (1994).

10. ^ R. v. M'Naughten, get full cite.

11. ^ "Code de la Santé Publique Chapitre III: Hospitalisation d'office Article L3213-

1" (in fr). Legifrance. 2002. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do?

cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006072665&idArticle=LEGIARTI000006687933&date

Texte=20080929. Retrieved 2007-10-23., note: this text refer to the procedure of

Involuntary commitment by the demand of the public authority, but the prefect
 systematically use that procedure whenever a man is discharged due to his

dementia.

12. ^ Proposed Texas House bill would recognize postpartum psychosis as a defense

for moms who kill infants

13. ^ The French Parliemant. "Article 122-5" (in fr). French Criminal Law.

Legifrance. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?

cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000278633&dateTexte=. Retrieved 2007-11-01.

14. ^ The French Parliemant. "Article 222-8". French Criminal Law. Legifrance.

http://195.83.177.9/code/liste.phtml?lang=uk&c=33&r=3691. Retrieved 2007-11-

01.

15. ^ The French Parliemant. "Section II - Involuntary Offences Against Life".

French Criminal Law. Legifrance. http://195.83.177.9/code/liste.phtml?

lang=uk&c=33&r=3686. Retrieved 2007-11-01.

16. ^ (the so-called "Twinkie defense").

17. ^ Rogers v. Tennessee, 532 U.S. 451 (2001).

18. ^ WHO: 1.6 million die in violence annually

19. ^ FBI web site

20. ^ Infoplease.com.

21. ^ Brazil murder rate similar to war zone, data shows

22. ^ 2009 Murders in Colombia (in spanish)

23. ^ Colombia's Uribe wins second term

24. ^ Twentieth Century Atlas - Homicide

25. ^ Jamaica "murder capital of the world"

26. ^ Canada's National Statistical Agency:Homicides

27. ^ Crime Statistics

28. ^ Fickling, David (2004-09-22). "Raskol gangs rule world's worst city". The

Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/sep/22/population.davidfickling.

Retrieved 2007-01-09.

29. ^ [1]

30. ^ Ann L. Pastore; Kathleen Maguire, eds. "Sourcebook of criminal justice

statistics Online". Albany, New York: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t31292007.pdf.

31. ^ Harris, Anthony R.; Stephen H. Thomas ; Gene A. Fisher ; David J. Hirsch

(May 2002). "Murder and medicine: the lethality of criminal assault 1960-1999"

(fee required). Homicide studies 6 (2): 128–166.

doi:10.1177/1088767902006002003.

http://hsx.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/6/2/128. Retrieved 2006-12-08.

32. ^ Disaster Center web site

33. ^ a b Why Fewer Murder Cases Get Solved These Days by Lewis Beale. 19 May

2009.

34. ^ a b CS Monitor by Brian Whitley. Christian Science Monitor. 24 Dec 2008.

35. ^ a b Spierenburg, Pieter, A History of Murder: Personal Violence in Europe from

the Middle Ages to the Present, Polity, 2008. Referred to in

[http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2009/11/09/091109crat_atlarge_le
 pore#ixzz0ePRpHvGz "Rap Sheet Why is American history so murderous?"] by

Jill Lepore New Yorker, November 9, 2009

36. ^ May Damages Be Recovered by a Non-Resident Alien for the Death of a Son?

University of Pennsylvania Law Review and American Law Register, Vol. 57, No.

3, Volume 48 New Series (December 1908), pages 171-173 doi:10.2307/3313315

Bibliography

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Murder

• Lord Mustill on the Common Law concerning murder

• Sir Edward Coke Co. Inst., Pt. III, ch.7, p. 50