...Murder: And all its forms Throughout the criminal justice system, news, and in many other situations the term “murder” is used quite frequently however usually incorrectly. Some people say animals or even trees get murdered, but under the law it is not murder unless a human takes the life of another human. Homicide is a lawful term for any killing of a human being by another human being. Homicide itself is not automatically a crime, some homicides are legal, such as the justifiable killing of a suspect by the police or a killing in self-defense. Unlawful homicides are classified as crimes like murder and manslaughter. This paper will explain the important but often overlooked distinctions between murder and manslaughter, and the different variations of both crimes. When we look at “murder” we must also look at the different degrees of murder which are a reflection of the intent or severity of a certain murder charge. The most common degrees of murder are 1st degree murder and 2nd degree murder and in some cases what we call “capital murder”. Regardless of the label on the degree of the murder committed, the general idea is to increase the punishment with the degree. The more inhumane the killing is, or the motive associated behind the killing, then the greater the punishment and degree is for the murder. We must first understand what murder is: Murder is the killing of one human by another that is intentional, unlawful, and done with “malice aforethought” or in other words...
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...Love is gentle, and kind, never ugly nor bitter. It shall never over whelm the feelings within to kill. Han himself, Caught up in a misunderstanding of lost love. He's not guily of murder but, guilty of loving strong. When someone has decided to murder his or her significant other, it’s the importance of the crime phase which they think about. NO one can plan a successful killing overnight. Especially when it's to murder a woman or man that you love. A crazy person can execute or pursue a murder, but it’s something you wouldn't want to get caught doing. You have to cover every little track, and all your trails you leave behind. In the case of Han, in the story "Han's Crime", written by Nagoya Shiga, there is a married couple performing Chinese juggling acts around the world. While doing one show, Han's wife was killed by his hands. Immediately after that Han was arrested, and waited for trial. Later, before the judge, he was questioned to see if he murdered his wife, or if she died by accident. There were a few others that were questioned also, like the owner of the circus troop, where they staged the act. Then Han took the stand to give his side of the story. While the judge began to question Han about the murder, and how it occurred, he stated "that is was an accident, not murder". Also "that he loved his wife very much, in fact too much to kill her".(253) There was a lot behind the relationship of Han, and his wife. In regards to their Personality they both were kind, and...
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...Critically Evaluate the Law in the areas of Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter and include the consideration of possible reforms. Homicide, in English criminal law is a generic term covering offences such as murder, manslaughter and death by dangerous driving. What they all have in common is the unlawful killing of a human being, and what distinguishes them is the state of mind of the defendant who has caused the death or the defences available to them. According to Coke's classic definition, Murder is when a man of sound memory and of an age of discretion unlawfully killed within the any country of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura (the person) under the King's peace with malice afore thought either expressed by the party or implied by law. [So as the party wounded etc die of the wound or hurt, etc within a year and a day of the same]. Coke's definition should not be read literally and it is neither accurate or helpful. For instance, any person can be found guilty of murder and the year and a day rule was abolished by S1 law Reform Act 1996. The reference to 'malice afore thought' this suggests some element of planning and ill will on the part of the murder when in truth it can be spontaneous and the law requires no evidence of ill will. From the outset it should be started that a few centuries of Jurisprudence and the odd statutory intervention such fundamental terms as causation & intention let alone when does life begin and end should have been well matured...
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...down laying on his stomach where the police claimed that he was resisting arrest and struggling to handcuff him. Not to mention Oscar Grant was unarmed and Officer Mehserle was telling the other officers who was restraining Oscar to get back because he was going to taze him, but withdrew his gun and shot Oscar in the back. Oscar yelled at Mehserle that he shot him and he has a little daughter, but Officer Mehserle looked stunned by his actions put his hands over his face. Mehserle said he feared that Oscar would pull out a gun when he reached inside of his pockets. Mehserle was sentenced to 2 years in jail and charged with Second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and gun enhancement. He was acquitted of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, but convicted on charges of involuntary manslaughter. After 11 months in jail, he was released from prison. John Burris, a civil rights attorney filed a $25 million wrongful death claim against BART on behalf of Grant's family. BART settled with Grant's daughter and mother for a total of $2.8 million in 2011. As mention before it wasn’t until after the death of Trayvon Martin the BlackLivesMatter movement started. On February 26, 2012 at night 28-year-old neighborhood watch George Zimmerman fatally shot 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin bought a bag of skittles and an Arizona from a convenience store where he made his way towards the Retreat at Twin Lakes. There have been many reports of attempted...
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...On January 1, 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; the abolition of slavery. Lincoln freed the slaves to weaken the Southern resistance, strengthen the Federal government, and encouraged free blacks to fight in the Union army, thus preserving the Union. There was a tentative peace in the south between blacks and whites, but it had severe limitations. White Southerners expected blacks to keep to themselves, to socialize and worship in separate venues, to work for white people in menial jobs and for meager wages, and to never request or demand anything, including equal rights. Sadly, equal rights are something that we are still struggling with in present day. On April 12 in Baltimore, MD, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American man, reportedly made eye contact with a police officer who was on bike patrol. Unsure as to why Freddie Gray decided to run from the police, but he was then chased by the officers, was finally stopped, and gave up without force, according to the police. Part of this interaction was recorded on a cellphone video and went viral, within hours, on social media. The police found a knife on Freddie Gray they described as illegal, but according to State Attorney Marilyn Mosby: “The knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law.” When they arrived at the police station, a medic was reportedly called and Gray was taken to the hospital where he underwent double surgery on his spine. He remained in a coma for a week and on April 19...
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...the event that they find themselves in a certain situation in which their survival, or the preservation of their family necessitates them to stand their ground and use a weapon for defense. This law can be referenced back to the Supreme Court case Beard v. United States, 158 U.S. 550 (1895). It is defined in this case that, “A man assailed on his own grounds, without provocation, by a person armed with a deadly weapon and apparently seeking his life is not obliged to retreat, but may stand his ground and defend himself with such means as are within his control; and so long as there is no intent on his part to kill his antagonist, and no purpose of doing anything beyond what is necessary to save his own life, is not guilty of murder or manslaughter if death results to his antagonist from a blow given him under such circumstances (www.justia.com). In Houston, Texas a “Stand-your-ground” case has brought a lot of attention, but also a lot of controversy. In this case Raul Rodriguez was found guilty of killing his neighbor over a dispute over loud music. Rodriguez who was a retired firefighter got angry because of the loud noise coming from his neighbor’s house while they were having a birthday party. He confronted his...
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...Lord of the flies- Essay num1 – Tal Arnon In the book Lord of the Flies by William Golding we witness a great number of offenses. Acting as the prosecution I would accuse Jack for some of his offenses. Statement of claim against Jack Merridew for his acts during the time at the island. First of all I would like to take preventive steps against two issues that might rise: lack of jurisdiction at the island and the fact that Jack is juvenile and is considered minor by law. I believe that looking away from these merciless offenses would be unjust, unfair to the victims and a danger to society. There are some examples of ruling in the past that Natural justice ("duty to act fairly") overcome the state laws such as "The Eichmann trial"- A jurisdiction matter and "The Weizman trial"- Sentencing a minor as an adult. This case should be an exception as well. The claims: * The attempted murder of Ralph- "Trying to unlawfully cause the death of a person" Attempted murder is an offense similar to first degree murder with the exception that an attempt is lacking the outcome of the offense (The death). As we can see in the book Jack mens rea (guiltily mind) was of intent ("intention- if one decided to kill, and killed or try to kill in cold blood, without provocation occurs immediately before the kill") to kill Ralph (Jack: "see? See? That’s what you'll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you any more…" page 181; The twins: "they're going to hunt you tomorrow" page 188)...
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...Wife not guilty of first-degree murder Julie Harper, a mother of three who shot and killed her husband was found not guilty of first degree murder. The jury deadlocked on the lesser charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter, so the judge declared a mistrial. Not clear yet what the prosecutor is planning to do in this case in the future. On Augustus 7, 2012 Julie Harper shot and killed her husband while her three kids were downstairs. Her husband, Jason Harper (39) was a math teacher and coach for the volleyball team at the Carlsbad High School. According to her, she informed her husband that she had filed for divorce and hired an attorney, and then they had a loud argument and struggled. During that time her husband, Jason tried to sexually assault her, and she claims the shooting was self defense. After the shooting her actions are really questionable. First she took the kids out for breakfast then tried to find play dates for them, and finally hid the gun instead of calling the police. Sixteen hours later she turned herself in to the police station. Less than a day after alleged shooting police found her husband’s body in the couple’s Carlsbad home. Before Julie Harper shot her husband, she never reported sexual, verbal or mental abuse. There is no physical evidence for her claim, nor did the family hear any violence in the couple’s relationship. However according to Homer Harper, Jason’s father “You could tell the marriage was coming apart”. Mrs. Harper never spoke...
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...killed the teen in self-defense after a scuffle. He was taken into custody but was released without charges being filed. The police chief in Sanford, Bill Lee, who later resigned, said Zimmerman was not arrested because his story held up under Florida's now. George Zimmerman actually got charged After details of the incident began to leak including 911 tapes and videos of Zimmerman in custody as well as several back and forth about criminal charges from state and local officials of the state of Florida, prosecutor Angela Corey announced on April 11, 2012, that Zimmerman was being charged with second-degree murder in the shooting and that he was in police custody. They eventually went to court and tried to charge George Zimmerman with manslaughter instead of second-degree murder, Zimmerman said he failed to identify...
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...PRACTICE EXAMINATION ISSUE ANALYSIS CRIMINAL LAW ESSAY QUESTION 1 OF 1 State vs. Fabio Homicide Homicide is the killing of one human being by another. When Fabio shot Nicholas with a gun and he died, there was a killing of a human being by another. Actual Causation Defendant’s acts must have been the actual cause of the victim’s death, i.e., but for the Defendant’s actions the victim would not have died. . "But for" Fabio shooting Nicholas, Nicholas would not have been killed. Fabio is the actual cause of Nicholas’ death. Thus, Fabio is the actual cause of Nicholas’ death. Proximate Causation A Defendant’s actions are the proximate cause of the victim’s death if the result occurred as a natural and probable consequence of Defendant’s act and there was no intervening event sufficient to break the chain of causation Nicholas’ death was the natural and probable consequence of Fabio shooting him with his gun and a foreseeable result of Fabio's shooting. Thus, Fabio is the proximate cause of Nicholas’ death. Thus, Fabio committed a homicide. Murder Murder is an unlawful killing committed with malice aforethought. Malice aforethought can be evidenced as an intent to kill, intent to cause great bodily harm, or through willful and wanton conduct. When Fabio saw his wife Michelle in bed with Nicholas, an old high school friend, he became very angry. After a few days when Fabio felt better, he remembered what he had seen when he...
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...Loss of Self Control It used to be that the loss of control needed to be sudden, now however it can develop over time. Many of the older cases demonstrate the old law but it is conceivable that the outcome now would be different. * Ahluwalia (1992) * D was in an abusive relationship for many years and went to bed once night being threatened that if she didn’t pay the bill she would get more violence. She waited until he was asleep, poured petrol over him and set him alight. He died six days later. She was convinced of murder and was not allowed to use provocation as her response was not sudden enough, she later appealed on diminished responsibility. * ( Her appeal would have likely succeeded now due to a change in the law she also showed a fear of violence) The two tests * The subjective test and the objective test * Subjective test – D must be shown to have actually lost his self-control. If there is evidence that his actions were premeditated, or that he had been able to compose himself between the provocation and the killing, then the evidence cannot be left to the jury. * The objective test: Having decided that the defendant was provoked. The jury must decide whether a responsible man would have acted as the defendant did. In the language of statue “The question whether the provocation was enough to make a reasonable man do as he did …taking into account everything both done and said according to the effect…it would have an a reasonable man” ...
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...monitoring of David Tiley, who was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail yesterday for the "brutal and evil" killings in March this year. Tiley, 47, who had previously served a prison sentence for rape offences, stabbed his girlfriend and mother-of-five Susan Hale, 49. She suffered from cerebellar ataxia, a degenerative brain disorder, which caused her difficulties in walking and speaking. The carer was bound, raped and stabbed when she visited Miss Hale’s ground floor flat in Southampton for an appointment to bathe her. Tiley was convicted at Winchester Crown Court in 1995 of two counts of rape, and a further serious sexual offence, against a woman and was jailed for six years Subject to three exceptions (see Voluntary Manslaughter below) the crime of murder is committed, where a person: * of sound mind and discretion (i.e. sane); * unlawfully kills (i.e. not self-defence or other justified killing); * any reasonable creature (human being); * in being (born alive and breathing through its own lungs - Rance v Mid-Downs Health Authority (1991) 1 All ER 801 and AG Ref No 3 of 1994 (1997) 3 All ER 936; * under the Queen's Peace; * with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH). Mens rea for David- intention to kill. Actus rea stabbing, rape. Faced life after admitting to the murder of both girlfriend and carer. Law of Murder A murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence. The judge passing sentence cannot pass a lesser sentence...
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...Ch. 3 Homicide Manslaughter= killings which lack malice aforethought; or where malice is mitigated -In some cases, a killing is manslaughter because there is simply no intention on the part of the killer to cause the death of another but death results from a reckless act. -In other cases, killing is intentional but is mitigated, or reduced, from murder to manslaughter because of the surrounding circumstances. Malice Aforethought= the conscious intent to cause death or great bodily harm to another person before a person commits the crime. Such malice is a required element to prove first degree murder. Voluntary Manslaughter Voluntary Manslaughter= killings that are the natural and probable result of the defendant’s recklessness, or conscious disregard for human life or safety. *An unlawful killing caused by a willful act done with full knowledge and awareness that the person is endangering the life of another, and done in conscious disregards of that risk is voluntary manslaughter or murder. -California Penal Code 192(a) defines voluntary manslaughter as the “unlawful killing of a human being without malice.” * Heat of Passion Killings: killing in response to legally adequate provocation (malice is mitigated) * Imperfect Self-Defense : killing with an honest but unreasonable belief in the right to use deadly force (malice is mitigated) Elements of Voluntary Manslaughter: * Actus reus- the intentional killing of another * Mans rea- the killer acted either: ...
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...Section: NEWS, Pg. A1 KITCHENER A teenager was cleared in a controversial manslaughter case Friday after authorities concluded he stabbed a drunken gang member in self-defence during an armed robbery. Zachary Schultz, then 18, was charged after the body of John James, 19, was found just before midnight May 12 on a walkway near Cameron Heights Collegiate in Kitchener. When he was released on bail just one day later, it sparked public protests by relatives of James and members of the local South Sudanese community. Some alleged racism was influencing the case because James was black and Schultz is white. The manslaughter charge was withdrawn in Kitchener court by Crown prosecutor Mary Ellen Cullen, who gave a detailed summary of the events and reasons for the determination that Schultz was protecting himself and a friend. She said Schultz, a college student with no criminal record, met a teenage girl after work and they went to talk in a park behind the high school. They were sitting on a hill. James appeared, seemingly drunk, came up to them and asked for the time. Cullen said James walked away, but returned a short time later, grabbed the girl by the neck and forcefully stuck the barrel of a handgun - later determined to be a metal starter's pistol - in her mouth. James demanded money and property. Schultz and the girl gave him $10, a cellphone and an iPod. With the gun still in the girl's mouth, James asked a lewd sexual question, demanded more property...
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...“is the killing of one human being by another human being” (Schmalleger & Dolatowski, 2010). There are three different types of homicide, which are justifiable, excusable, and criminal. Common law puts criminal homicide into two groups: murder and manslaughter. The Model Penal Code categorizes criminal homicide into murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. Justifiable homicides are legal killings acceptable by law, and society. These killings consist of a state-ordered execution military killing of an enemy solider while serving on active duty. Any death caused by legitimate self-defense can also be an excusable homicide. An excusable homicide is “those homicides that may involve some fault but not enough for the act to be considered criminal” (Schmalleger & Dolatowski, 2010). An excusable homicide could be one in which a driver of a motor vehicle has an accident that results in death, but the defendant was not negligent. Criminal homicide is the killing of a human being by another whose actions were found by the courts to have elements that were “purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent resulting in the killing of one human by another human” (Schmalleger & Dolatowski, 2010). Criminal homicide is murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide that would involve two individuals engaging in physical confrontation over a situation such as a cheating spouse. One of the individuals takes out a gun and fatally shoots the other. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human...
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