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Homicide (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English. Homicide is not always an illegal act.

Criminal homicide
Criminal homicide, a malum in se
Malum in se

Malum in se is a list of Latin phrases meaning wrong or evil in itself. This concept is a part of the value consensus model explanation of the origins of the criminal law....
 crime, occurs when a person purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another.






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Homicide (Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
 homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English. Homicide is not always an illegal act.

Criminal homicide


Criminal homicide, a malum in se
Malum in se

Malum in se is a list of Latin phrases meaning wrong or evil in itself. This concept is a part of the value consensus model explanation of the origins of the criminal law....
 crime, occurs when a person purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently causes the death of another. Murder
Murder

Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
 and manslaughter
Manslaughter

Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind....
 are both examples of criminal homicide. Every legal system contains some form of prohibition or regulation of criminal homicide.

Homicidal crimes in some criminal jurisdiction
Criminal jurisdiction

Criminal jurisdiction is a term used in constitutional law and public law to describe the power of courts to hear a case brought by a state accusing a defendant of the commission of a crime....
s include:

  • Murder
    Murder

    Murder as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide....
     (in English law
    Murder in English law

    In English law, murder is considered the most serious form of homicide, in which one person kills another either intention in English law to cause death or intending to cause serious injury ....
    )
    • Felony murder
      Felony murder

      The rule of felony murder is a legal doctrine in some common law jurisdictions that broadens the crime of murder in two ways. First, when an offender kills accidentally or without specific intent to kill in the course of an applicable felony, what might have been manslaughter is escalated to murder....
    • Capital murder
  • Manslaughter
    Manslaughter

    Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind....
     (in English law
    Manslaughter in English law

    In the English law of homicide, manslaughter is a less serious offence than murder in English law, the differential being between levels of fault based on the mens rea ....
    )
    • Voluntary manslaughter
      Voluntary Manslaughter

      Voluntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being in which the offender had no prior intent to kill and acted during "the heat of passion", under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed....
    • Involuntary manslaughter
      Manslaughter

      Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind....
    • Intoxicating manslaughter
    • Death by dangerous driving
      Death by dangerous driving

      In English law criminal law, the offence of causing death by dangerous driving is currently defined by the Road Traffic Act 1991 but, following Adomako 1 AC 171, the offence of Manslaughter in English law#Motor manslaughter may now be the preferred charge....
    • Reckless manslaughter
    • Corporate manslaughter
      Corporate manslaughter

      Corporate manslaughter is a criminal offence in English law, being an act of homicide committed by a company . In general, in English criminal law, a juristic person is in the same position as a natural person, and may be convicted for committing many offences....


    • Culpable homicide
      Culpable homicide

      Culpable homicide is a specific offence in various jurisdictions which generally involves the unlawful killing of another with an absence of an intention to kill....
       (in Scots law
      Scots law

      Scots law is a unique Legal systems of the world with an ancient basis in Roman law. Grounded in Codification Civil law dating back to the Corpus Juris Civilis, it also features elements of common law with Legal institutions of Scotland in the High Middle Ages sources....
      )
    • Negligent homicide
      Negligent homicide

      Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against people who, through criminal negligence, allow others to die.Negligent Homicide is a lesser included offense to First degree murder and second degree murder, in the sense that someone guilty of this offense can expect a more lenient sentence, often with imprisonment time comparable to...
    • Criminally negligent homicide


Many forms of homicide have their own term based on the person(s) being killed:

  • Mariticide
    Mariticide

    Mariticide literally means the murder of one's married partner, but has become most associated with the murder of a husband by his wife, as the reverse is given the name uxoricide....
    : killing of one's husband
  • Uxoricide
    Uxoricide

    Uxoricide is murder of one's wife. It can refer to the act itself or the man who carries it out. Overkill is reported to be common in these slayings, presumably reflecting the emotional state of the killer....
    : killing of one's wife
  • Parricide
    Parricide

    Parricide stemming from is defined as:#the act of murdering one's father , mother , or other close relative#the act of murdering a person who stands in a relationship resembling that of a father...
    : killing of either or both of one's parents, or of a close person who acts in a similar role:
    • Matricide
      Matricide

      Matricide is the act of killing one's mother. As for any type of killing, Motive can vary a great deal....
      : killing of one's mother
    • Patricide
      Patricide

      Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida ....
      : killing of one's father
  • Filicide
    Filicide

    Filicide is the deliberate act of a parent killing his or her own son or daughter. The word filicide derives from the Latin word filius meaning "son"....
    : killing of one's child
  • Infanticide
    Infanticide

    Infanticide is the practice of someone intentionally causing the death of an infant. Often it is the mother who commits the act, but criminology recognizes various forms of non-maternal child murder....
    : killing of an infant
  • Fratricide
    Fratricide

    Fratricide is the act of a person killing his or her brother.Related concepts are sororicide , child murder , infanticide , filicide , patricide , matricide , mariticide and uxoricide ....
    : killing of one's brother; in a military context, killing of a comrade
  • Sororicide
    Sororicide

    Sororicide is the act of killing one's own sister.There are a number of examples of sororicide and fratricide in adolescents, even pre-adolescents, where sibling rivalry and resulting physical aggression can get out of hand and lead to the death of one of them, particularly if a firearm is available or if one is significantly older than t...
    : killing of one's sister
  • Regicide
    Regicide

    The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the United Kingdom tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after alleged due process of law....
    : killing of a monarch
  • Genocide
    Genocide

    Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise genocide definitions, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ....
    : killing of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group


Non-criminal homicide


Homicides do not always involve a crime. Sometimes the law allows homicide by allowing certain defense
Defense (legal)

In civil proceedings and criminal prosecutions under the common law, a defendant may raise a defense in an attempt to avoid criminal or civil liability....
s to criminal charges. One of the most recognized is self defense
Self-defense (theory)

The right of self-defense is the right for civilians acting on their own behalf to engage in violence for the sake of defending one's own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force....
, which provides that a person is entitled to commit homicide to protect his or her own life from a deadly attack.

Some defenses include:
  • Self-defense (theory)
    Self-defense (theory)

    The right of self-defense is the right for civilians acting on their own behalf to engage in violence for the sake of defending one's own life or the lives of others, including the use of deadly force....
  • Insanity defense
  • Duress
    Duress

    Duress or coercion is a possible defense , one of four of the most important justification defenses, by which defendants argue that they should not be held liability because the actions that broke the law were only performed out of an immediate fear of injury....


State-sanctioned homicide

Homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction of the state. The most obvious example is capital punishment
Capital punishment

Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the killing of a person by procedural law for Punishment#Retribution and Punishment#Incapacitation....
, in which the state determines that a person should die. Homicides committed in action during war
War

...
 are usually not subject to criminal prosecution either.

See also


  • Suicide
    Suicide

    Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
     - Killing of oneself
  • Murder book
    Murder book

    In law enforcement parlance, the term murder book refers to the case file of a murder investigation. Typically, murder books include Forensic photography and sketches, autopsy and forensic reports, transcripts of investigators' notes and witness interviews....
     - A homicide case file