Homicide is the taking
of a human life 🔍
⭕General categories.
⚠Murder
⚠Manslaughter
⚠Justifiable homicide.
⚠Murder
✓Murder is typically broken down further into several sub-categories. The most common are first and second degree murder.
•First degree murder is the most serious of all homicide charges. It applies to situations in which someone is accused of killing another person after having planned to kill the victim.
•Second degree murder, on the other hand, usually applies to cases in which someone may have intended to kill another, but did not have time to plan it (a crime of passion).
⚠Manslaughter
✓The charge of manslaughter is reserved for instances where the accused did not plan the crime nor did he or she intend for the victim to die because of his or her actions. Manslaughter charges usually arise out of accidental circumstances where a person died because of the event.
⚠Justifiable Homicide
✓Justifiable homicide is reserved for situations where an individual killed another in self-defense or similar circumstances. This really is not a legal charge, but rather a classification that police can use in an event where an individual died but no crime was committed, or as a defense in a homicide prosecution.
⚠Other Homicides
✓ Felony murder, a person has died while the defendant was participating in the commission of a crime, but the defendant did not actually cause the death.
