Drill - Has anyone ever committed a crime against you? If so, what?

Crimes Against the Person Lesson 1: Homicide

Homicide Key Terms Homicide Malice First Degree Murder Felony Murder Voluntary Manslaughter Involuntary Manslaughter Criminal Negligence

Objectives Identify a homicide and explain the different types of homicide. Describe a non-illegal homicide and provide examples. Identify the different sentences for the various levels of homicide

Why Do I Need To Know This? Homicides are the most serious crimes and can result in the death penalty. When a person is killed it affects everyone in the society. Not all homicides result in criminal punishment. Suicide is a serious and growing problem for teenagers today.

Homicides A homicide is any time that one person is killed by another person. Homo (human) + cide (the killing of) = killing of a human being Not all homicides result in criminal punishment. For example, when a soldier at war kills an enemy soldier on the battlefield, it is a homicide, but does not result in criminal prosecution.

Also, when a doctor tries to do a life-saving operation and does everything right, but the patient still dies, it is not a homicide.

Criminal Homicides—First Degree First Degree homicides are the most serious homicides and can result in the death penalty. There are 2 types of First Degree homicides. They are: First Degree Murder Felony Murder First Degree Murder occurs when a person kills another with malice aforethought.

Criminal Homicides—First Degree Malice means to have the intent to kill or to cause serious harm to another person. Malice is also legally implied if the defendant acts with reckless indifference to life, has the intent to commit a felony, or uses a deadly weapon. Malice can form within a split second and can happen in just a second before the homicide.

Criminal Homicides—First Degree Felony Murder is another type of First Degree homicide that can result in the death penalty. Felony Murder is the most common and easiest to prove type of first degree homicide. In order to be guilty of Felony Murder, the person must be guilty of an underlying felony. The underlying felony must be a serious or violent felony.

Criminal Homicides—First Degree Any death that happens during the commission of the felony will result in a felony murder charge. The death can happen after the felony is over, but the events must have triggered the death. The death could result from actions of the police or bystanders. The death could even be of an accomplice to the crime!

Criminal Homicides—Second Degree Second Degree homicides occur when a person kills another with malice but without premeditation. These are known as the “depraved heart” type homicides. These are very rare types of homicides.

To better understand depraved heart murders, consider the following example. Imagine that someone is riding his bike to the far right of the road, as per the law. Meanwhile, a reckless driver illegally passes a car to the right, speeding onto the road’s shoulder. This driver strikes and kills the bicyclist. Although the driver did not intentionally kill the biker, his negligence and failure to follow the law mean that he could be sued for a depraved heart murder.

Criminal Homicides—Second Degree An example would be a person who starts a fist fight and in the fight decides to kill the victim. Another example would be a soldier killing an enemy who is trying to surrender during a firefight.

Criminal Homicides—Voluntary Manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter is a homicide that would be murder, except that the victim provoked the defendant. The victim must have done something to the defendant that would cause a sudden and intense passion in an ordinary person to lose self control.

Criminal Homicides—Voluntary Manslaughter And, the defendant must not have had any time to “cool off” between the provocation and the homicide. The provocation must be severe—merely calling someone names is generally not enough for manslaughter. Manslaughter is generally punished much less than 1st degree murder.

Criminal Homicides—Involuntary Manslaughter There are 2 types of involuntary manslaughter: 1. Involuntary Manslaughter 2. Criminal Negligence Involuntary manslaughter is punished less than voluntary manslaughter, with the punishment depending on what the defendant did. Punishments can range from fines, to probation to short jail sentences.

Criminal Homicides—Involuntary Manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter is a killing in which there is no intent to kill at all, but results from conduct so reckless that it causes extreme danger or risk of bodily harm.

Criminal Homicides—Involuntary Manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter can result when the defendant commits a misdemeanor that results in a person’s death (this is essentially misdemeanor manslaughter).

Criminal Homicides—Criminal Negligence Criminal Negligence occurs when a defendant fails to use reasonable or ordinary care. Some examples include playing with a loaded gun, lighting fireworks, speeding with a car or boat, DUI, etc.

Criminal Homicides—Criminal Negligence Not only can people be held criminally liable for criminal negligence, businesses can also be punished for this crime as well! Usually the business is punished with a fine, which may be placed upon the business itself or the officers and directors of the business.

Noncriminal Homicides There are many cases in which a person is killed and the killer is considered faultless. Some examples include: 1. A soldier who kills an enemy in combat 2. An executioner killing a condemned prisoner

Noncriminal Homicides 1. A police officer killing a person posing a threat to society 2. Self-defense or defense of others A doctor performing a medical procedure **However, in all of these cases, it really depends on the facts. In any one of these examples, there still exists the possibility that a criminal homicide was committed.