Homicide

Homicide (Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being.^[1] 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.

1 Homicidal crimes 2 Non-criminal homicide 3 State-sanctioned homicide 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Homicidal crimes

Criminal homicide is a malum in se crime, and every legal system contains some form of prohibition or regulation of criminal homicide.

Homicidal crimes in some criminal jurisdictions include:

Murder/murder in English law

Felony murder Capital murder

Manslaughter/manslaughter in English law

Voluntary manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter Intoxicating manslaughter Death by dangerous driving Reckless manslaughter

Criminal Homicide

Culpable homicide (in Scots law) Negligent homicide Criminally negligent homicide

Many forms of homicide have their own term based on the person being killed.

Infanticide - Killing of an infant Fratricide - Killing of one's brother; in a military context, killing of a friendly combatant Sororicide - Killing of one's sister Parricide - Killing of either (resp. patricide, matricide) or both of one's parents, or other close person who stands in a somewhat similar relationship Patricide - Killing of one's father Matricide - Killing of one's mother Mariticide - Killing of one's husband Uxoricide - Killing of one's wife Filicide - Killing of one's child Regicide - Killing of a monarch. Genocide - Killing of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group

[edit] Non-criminal homicide

Main article: Justifiable homicide

Homicides do not always involve a crime. Sometimes the law allows homicide by allowing certain defenses to criminal charges. One of the most recognized is self defense, 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) Insanity defense Duress

[edit] State-sanctioned homicide

Homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction of the state. The most obvious example is capital punishment, in which the state determines that a person should die. Homicides committed during war are usually not subject to criminal prosecution either.