Homicide committed without justification
Murder is defined by Hess, Orthmann, and Cho as “the killing of another human being with malice aforethought” (2015, p. 274). The authors classify murder into three separate degrees. First-degree murder requires “premeditation (advanced planning) and the intent to cause death” (2015, p. 274). Second-degree murder is the “intent to cause death, but not premeditation” (2015, p. 274). Third-degree murder is an act that is “imminently dangerous to others and shows a disregard for human life” (2015, p. 274). The three degrees of murder are one example of the multiple factors that can make murder a difficult crime to investigate. When manslaughter is added to the category of murder, the crime becomes that much more difficult to investigate.
Manslaughter is defined by the Columbia Encyclopedia as “homicide committed without justification or excuse but distinguished from murder by the absence of the element of malicee aforethought” (2018, Columbia Encyclopedia). To further complicate it, manslaughter is separated into two degrees which are voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter is defined as “a killing done in the heat of passion provoked by acts of the victim such as to cause a reasonable man to act rashly and without reflection” (2018, Columbia Encyclopedia). Involuntary manslaughter is defined as a “killing in which there is no intention to kill at all. It occurs when the killing is the result of the commission of a crime that is neither a felony nor an act likely to cause great bodily harm or when it is the result of a lawful act done in a criminal manner, e.g., a case of negligence” (2018, Columbia Encyclopedia).
Murder can be classified into multiple different categories, and each of these categories can be separated into degrees. This could potentially add to the difficulty in investigating a case of this particular crime.
References
Orthmann, C. M., Hess, K. M., & Cho, H. L. (2015). Criminal Investigation. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
manslaughter. (2018). In P. Lagasse, & Columbia University, The Columbia encyclopedia (8th ed.). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://sear…
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Answer preview to homicide committed without justification
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