...Murder or Manslaughter Suzanne Feins Saint Leo University Murder or Manslaughter Death is a pretty routine part of life. How we die, however can play a role in how it may impact others lives. Some people die of old age, whereas other people will die from medical issues. When a person is taken from us by accident or on purpose, the court system(s) will seek justice for the victim. There are different levels of punishment for the people who take another person's life. One level of punishment in our court system is called first degree murder. First degree murder is considered the most heinous of acts. In order to convict the accused of first degree murder, the court must prove it was pre-mediated. This means the "murderers" are considered to have planned the event (Blinn, 1950). This is considered when someone is waiting on another person to arrive home to kill them or if someone was to poison the victim. Another way a person may be guilty of first degree murder is if a person dies a result of a violent act that was commit such as rape, robbery arson or burglary. Most cases are trial by a jury and depending on the states, it could sentence a person to spend life in prison or it could mean the death penalty. People who are convicted of first degree murder are sent to a maximum prison due to the nature of their crime. The next level of punishment we have is called second degree murder. Second degree murder is slightly different. Granted there still was a murder, but there...
Words: 1154 - Pages: 5
...“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...
Words: 665 - Pages: 3
...even a whole community. A homicide is defined as “the killing of a human being by another human being.”(Schmalleger & Hall, 2014, p. 210) Under early common law, established by English courts, homicide was either felonious or non-felonious. Justifiable homicide and excusable homicide were considered non-felonious and felonious homicide was distinguished as murder. U.S. courts adopted English common law, and as time went on, modified felonious or criminal homicide into various categories. Today there are three types of homicide. They are justifiable, excusable, and criminal. Justifiable homicide and excusable homicide are considered noncriminal homicides. Criminal homicide can be further broken down into three categories, murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the homicide rate in the United States has declined since 2000 and has fallen to levels last seen back in the 1960’s. (bjs.gov) Males represent the highest percentage of victims, and the percentage of men who were the victims of a homicide is three times higher than that of a female victim. Men are also the majority of the offenders in a criminal homicide. (bjs.gov) Homicide rates can, of course, vary per state; Louisiana has the highest rate, with Iowa having the lowest. In the state of Michigan, we rank fifth, above larger more populated states such as California, Texas, and New York. (deathpenaltyinfo.org) The circumstances surrounding each homicide can differ...
Words: 2392 - Pages: 10
...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: ...
Words: 832 - Pages: 4
...A School Resource Officer(SRO) is a job that I grew to like during my internship at OCSO. My first weeks at my internship I worked a lot with SROs. My daily duties consisted of monitoring students, writing reports, and being a mentor for students. Also, I assisted several officers with varies projects, in which we presented to the students. Sheriff Murant informed me that our alternate goal is to creating and maintaining a safe ,secure ,and suitable learning environment for students,teachers, and staff. Every since I have started working with the different SROs , I can truly say that the work really hard to make sure every duty is completed with proficiency. I observed how a lot of students looked up to Sheriff Murant as a mother. They never seem to feel afraid to come a talk to her about any problems that they encountered. Also, at Howard Middle School I observed how the students respected all rules that were given to them. I enjoyed working with the students and hearing their stories. A Student Resource Officer is a job I think I would master and become comfortable in. A Student Resource Officer (SRO) is a law enforcement officer who is assigned to a middle or high school. Their main goal is to prevent juvenile delinquency by having a positive relationship with the youth . SRO of Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office( OCSO) have a program that places law enforcement in schools. Their goal is to create a safe, secure, and functional learning environment for the students, teachers...
Words: 1776 - Pages: 8
...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...
Words: 1650 - Pages: 7
...Second degree murder is still murder with the intent to harm someone and planning it out over time and actually doing it. A man comes home and finds his wife to cheating he is upset and grabs his stuff and leaves. Over a few weeks, he plans to kill the guy she was cheating with. This would be second degree murder because he planned it out and he actually did it. Voluntary manslaughter is heat of the moment, you get mad at something and act on it right then, no time to plan it out. An example is the man comes home and finds his wife cheating and kills the other man she is cheating with. He didn’t plan it out but he did still kill the other man. This college student didn’t plan on harming anyone, he just wanted to go home. He didn’t say to himself,...
Words: 313 - Pages: 2
...Liability for Alice's Death I am asked to advise in relation to the death of Alice, as it appears that Noah may have contributed significantly to this death. According to the facts, the death of Alice appears to have been caused by the events preceding Noah leaving the vessel in the life raft. The question is whether this act would amount to involuntary manslaughter, given that there would be insufficient grounds for a charge for murder given the lack of intent. The modern test for involuntary manslaughter is requires the proving of four key substantive elements, which can be described as follows: • Whether Noah owed a duty of care to Alice in these circumstances; • Whether Noah breached that duty of care; • Whether that breach caused Alice's death; and • Whether the breach was sufficiently serious to constitute gross negligence. Given the fact that Noah was the pilot of the vessel at the time of the incident, and Alice was a retail assistant, there is some doubt over whether Noah in fact owed Alice a duty of care at the time. However, applying the reasonable man test that is prevalent in a tort of negligence, one could argue that a reasonable person would have owed Alice a duty of care in ensuring that she was able to board the life raft safely. Additionally, as captain of the vessel, one would argue that Noah was responsible for ensuring that all persons were able to board life rafts. Therefore, it would be reasonable to conclude that Noah owed...
Words: 2804 - Pages: 12
...lawteacher.net http://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/2-2-essays/criminal-liability-essay.php Criminal Liability Essay "Criminal liability and the justifications for, and objectives of, punishment are based on the notion of individual blameworthiness" In light of the above statement, consider whether imposing criminal liability on corporations for manslaughter is ever justified. Introduction English law has yet to come to terms with the conceptually difficult task of attributing liability for manslaughter to a corporate entity. The essential problem is that a corporation is granted an independent status by a pragmatic legal fiction which affords an identity to entity which has no physical existence. Salomon v. Salomon & Co. [1897] is authority on this point. This is done in order to allow the corporation to assume responsibility and rights in its economic activities and this device has proved extremely useful in encouraging commercial risk taking and entrepreneurial activity. However, problems arise when it is necessary to consider the question of the criminal liability of the corporation, because one of the fundamental precepts of criminal law is that of personal criminal responsibility. The way in which criminal law attributes liability is by ascertaining a mens rea (a guilty mind) and an actus reus (a guilty act) on the part of the accused. It is difficult to accuse a company of possessing a guilty mind, because it has no personal mind or conscience, and it...
Words: 3186 - Pages: 13
...I. Justification of Punishment a. Theories of Punishment and Purpose of Criminal Law Sentencing i. Deterrence 1. Utilitarian concept, forward-looking, premise: humans will act in their own interest 2. Individual Deterrence: general public is protected 3. General Deterrence: helps to protect public at large, justified on grounds of 1) prevention of crime by threat of arrest, conviction, punishment 2) prevention of crime by strengthening of moral norms 3) prevention of crime by stimulating law-abiding contact based on the impulse to conform. 4. Criticisms: 1) ineffective in cases where criminal is motivated by emotional concerns 2) one person might be used as a means to an end in order to deter others and benefit society as a whole ii. Retribution 5. Premise: humans act under free will and must be punished when they choose to violate society’s norms, backward-looking 6. Based on proportionality of punishment: the evil done to the victim is paid back to the perpetrator iii. Rehabilitation/Reform 7. Criticisms: 1)allocating resources to those who least deserve them 2) remaking humans with what society deems is the best 3) assuming that humans can simply be reconditioned iv. Incapacitation 8. Renders def unable to cause further harm to society 9. Criticisms: 1) too costly 2) ineffective in reducing recidivism 3) further...
Words: 14497 - Pages: 58
... 4. Causation a. Actual Causation b. Proximate Cause i. Common law: Intervening Cause? ii. MPC: Built into culpability standards 5. Concurrence of Elements B. Mens Rea 1. Common Law Standard 2. MPC Culpability Standard 3. Specific Intent 4. Transferred Intent 5. Strict Liability Crimes 6. Role of Mistake a. Mistake of Fact b. Mistake of Law C. Concurrence of Elements III. Homicide A. Common Law 1. Murder a. 1st Degree Murder b. 2nd Degree Murder 2. Manslaughter a. Adequate Provocation b. Criminal Negligence c. Misdemeanor-Mansalguther B. MPC 1. Murder 2. Manslaughter 3. Criminal Negligence C. Felony Murder Rule 1. Limitations a. Inherently Dangerous Felony b. Merger Doctrine c. In furtherance of Felony IV. Rape A. Mens Rea and role of mistake 1. B. Actus Reus 1. Subjective 2. FRR 3. No Means No 4. Affirmatively Expressed Consent V. Inchoate A. Attempt 1. CL a. Mens Rea i. Intent to commit attempt...
Words: 17656 - Pages: 71
...Unit 24 - Assignment 1 Introduction For this assignment I will be describing the elements of a crime which are Mens Rea and Actus Reus. Mens Rea is Latin for 'guilty mind' and it is the mental thinking behind the crime which has been committed, it refers to the intentions of the person who committed the crime. For example, when someone commits theft their intention is to permanently deprive the owner/s of the object. Actus Reus is Latin for 'guilty act' and it can either be an act or a failure to act. For example, when someone commits theft they must've physically taken something. The three C's of Actus Reus must be taken into account when investigating a crime they are: * Conduct - this is the act of damaging or destroying something/someone. * Circumstances - this is the fact that the property must belong to another. * Consent - this is the resulting damage or destruction of the act. Causation Causation, also known as result crimes is when a consequence has come about as a result of the Actus Reus being committed. When establishing causation the first step is to ask 'was the defendant's act a cause in the fact of the specified consequence?' This can be answered by asking 'But for what the defendant did would the consequence have occurred?' If the answer is YES then the result wouldn't have occurred if not for the defendant's acts and, therefore causation is established. A case which shows the chain of causation is the case of R v White (1910) the defendant...
Words: 3175 - Pages: 13
...years. The issue has been at the centre of very heated debates for many years and is surrounded by religious, ethical and practical considerations. Voluntary Euthanasia - When a competent person makes a voluntary and enduring request to be helped to die. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/euthanasia/overview/introduction.shtml •active euthanasia – where a person deliberately intervenes to end someone’s life – for example, by injecting them with a large dose of sedatives •passive euthanasia – where a person causes death by withholding or withdrawing treatment that is necessary to maintain life, such as withholding antibiotics from someone with pneumonia •voluntary euthanasia – where a person makes a conscious decision to die and asks for help to do this •non-voluntary euthanasia – where a person is unable to give their consent (for example, because they are in a coma or are severely brain damaged) and another person takes the decision on their behalf, often because the ill person previously expressed a wish for their life to be ended in such circumstances •involuntary euthanasia – where a person is killed against their expressed wishes Depending on the circumstances, voluntary and...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...criminal trials are highly publicized in the media and commonly the storyline in hit television shows and movies. As a result, people may consider themselves well-informed on the different types of crimes. However, the law can be quite complicated. There are many different types of crimes but, generally, crimes can be divided into four major categories,personal crimes, property crimes, inchoate crimes, and Statutory Crimes: * Personal Crimes – “Offenses against the Person”: These are crimes that result in physical or mental harm to another person. Personal crimes include: * Assault * Battery * False Imprisonment * Kidnapping * Homicide – crimes such as first and second degree, murder, and involuntary manslaughter, and vehicular homicide * Rape, statutory rape, sexual assault and other offenses of a sexual nature * Property Crimes – “Offenses against Property”: These are crimes that do not necessarily involve harm to another person. Instead, they involve an interference with another person’s right to use or enjoy their property. Property crimes include: * Larceny (theft)...
Words: 3016 - Pages: 13
...Unit 24 - Assignment 1 Introduction For this assignment I will be describing the elements of a crime which are Mens Rea and Actus Reus. Mens Rea is Latin for 'guilty mind' and it is the mental thinking behind the crime which has been committed, it refers to the intentions of the person who committed the crime. For example, when someone commits theft their intention is to permanently deprive the owner/s of the object. Actus Reus is Latin for 'guilty act' and it can either be an act or a failure to act. For example, when someone commits theft they must've physically taken something. The three C's of Actus Reus must be taken into account when investigating a crime they are: • Conduct - this is the act of damaging or destroying something/someone. • Circumstances - this is the fact that the property must belong to another. • Consent - this is the resulting damage or destruction of the act. Causation Causation, also known as result crimes is when a consequence has come about as a result of the Actus Reus being committed. When establishing causation the first step is to ask 'was the defendant's act a cause in the fact of the specified consequence?' This can be answered by asking 'But for what the defendant did would the consequence have occurred?' If the answer is YES then the result wouldn't have occurred if not for the defendant's acts and, therefore causation is established. A case which shows the chain of causation is the case of R v White (1910) the defendant put cyanide...
Words: 3175 - Pages: 13
