HOMICIDE

the killing of one human being by another. Homicide is a general term; it may refer to a killing that is not criminal. Some homicides are considered justifiable. Thus, in most cases a person may kill to prevent the commission of a serious felony or to aid a representative of the law. Other homicides are said to be excusable, as when a person kills in self-defense (q.v.). A criminal homicide is one that is not regarded by the applicable criminal code as justifiable or excusable. All legal systems make important distinctions between different types of homicides. Punishments vary greatly according to the intent of the killer, the dangerousness of his conduct, or the circumstances in which he acted. Anglo-American codes classify homicides in two or more separate crimes, each crime carrying its own penalty, which can be varied within limits by the sentencing authority. Thus, murder is a homicide committed intentionally or as a result of the commission of another serious offense. The crime of manslaughter includes killings that are the result of recklessness or a violent emotional outburst, as when the killer is provoked by the victim. The penalty for murder may be death or confinement for life, whereas the penalty for manslaughter is usually a maximum number of years in confinement. European codes and their derivatives group all unjustified killings under the single crime of homicide but specify different penalties depending on the circumstances of the act. Some countries provide for unique situations in accordance with special social needs. Thus, Japan reserves its harshest penalties for the murder of one's own lineal descendents, and Italy allows for mitigation of punishment if the killer acted from a sudden intense passion to avenge his honour. European codes, like the Anglo-American, distinguish between intentional and felony murders, on the one hand, and reckless, negligent, and provoked murders, on the other. In all systems the most important dividing line in terms of sentencing falls between conduct that is socially dangerous and that which is merely reckless, between acts of intent and acts of passion. Anglo-American systems require an element of intent, or malice aforethought, in the act of murder. This includes transferred intent, as when one who intends to kill another kills a third person by mistake, as well as acts of such extreme recklessness and dangerousness that criminality or disregard may be inferred. The Indian penal code requires that an offender know of the danger he might cause, thus ruling out reckless acts that are the result of ignorance. But other jurisdictions are less clear on this point. Many states of the United States distinguish between murder of the first and of the second degree, with capital punishment limited to crimes of clear intent. European codes place a greater emphasis than do English systems on the dangerousness of the actor's conduct and the circumstances surrounding his act. Thus, bodily injury resulting in death and death that is a result of negligence rather than recklessness are more heavily penalized in European than in Anglo-American systems. Whereas in England murder that is the result of felony is limited to only a few serious crimes, European codes often punish any killer as a murderer if he has employed a deadly weapon. The European codes, on the other hand, acquit a person for a mercy killing, whereas the Anglo-American codes do not.