What is "murder"

Murder \Mur"der\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Murdered (m[^u]r"d[~e]rd); p. pr. & vb. n. Murdering.] [OE. mortheren, murtheren, AS. myr[eth]rian; akin to OHG. murdiren, Goth. ma['u]r[thorn]rjan. See Murder, n.]

1. To kill with premediated malice; to kill (a human being) willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully. See Murder, n.

2. To destroy; to put an end to.

   [Canst thou] murder thy breath in middle of a word?
   --Shak.

3. To mutilate, spoil, or deform, as if with malice or cruelty; to mangle; as, to murder the king's English.

   Syn: To kill; assassinate; slay. See Kill.

Murder \Mur"der\ (m[^u]r"d[~e]r), n. [OE. morder, morther, AS. mor[eth]or, fr. mor[eth] murder; akin to D. moord, OS. mor[eth], G., Dan., & Sw. mord, Icel. mor[eth], Goth. ma['u]r[thorn]r, OSlav. mr[=e]ti to die, Lith. mirti, W. marw dead, L. mors, mortis, death, mori, moriri, to die, Gr. broto`s (for mroto`s) mortal, 'a`mbrotos immortal, Skr. m[.r] to die, m[.r]ta death. [root]105. Cf. Amaranth, Ambrosia, Mortal.] The offense of killing a human being with malice prepense or aforethought, express or implied; intentional and unlawful homicide. ``Mordre will out.''
--Chaucer.

The killing of their children had, in the account of God, the guilt of murder, as the offering them to idols had the guilt of idolatry.
--Locke.

Slaughter grows murder when it goes too far.
--Dryden.

Note: Murder in the second degree, in most jurisdictions, is a malicious homicide committed without a specific intention to take life.
--Wharton.

c.1300, murdre, from Old English morðor (plural morþras) "secret killing of a person, unlawful killing," also "mortal sin, crime; punishment, torment, misery," from Proto-Germanic *murthra- (cognates: Goth maurþr, and, from a variant form of the same root, Old Saxon morth, Old Frisian morth, Old Norse morð, Middle Dutch moort, Dutch moord, German Mord "murder"), from PIE *mrtro-, from root *mer- "to die" (see mortal (adj.)). The spelling with -d- probably reflects influence of Anglo-French murdre, from Old French mordre, from Medieval Latin murdrum, from the Germanic root.\n

\nViking custom, typical of Germanic, distinguished morð (Old Norse) "secret slaughter," from vig (Old Norse) "slaying." The former involved concealment, or slaying a man by night or when asleep, and was a heinous crime. The latter was not a disgrace, if the killer acknowledged his deed, but he was subject to vengeance or demand for compensation.Mordre wol out that se we day by day. [Chaucer, "Nun's Priest's Tale," c.1386]Weakened sense of "very unpleasant situation" is from 1878.

Old English myrðrian, from Proto-Germanic *murthjan (cognates: Old High German murdran, German mördren, Gothic maurþjan; see murder (n.)). Related: Murdered; murdering.

n. (label en countable) An act of deliberate killing of another being, especially a human. vb. 1 To deliberately kill (a person or persons). 2 (context transitive sports figuratively colloquial English) To defeat decisively. 3 To botch or mangle.

1. v. kill intentionally and with premeditation; "The mafia boss ordered his enemies murdered" [syn: slay, hit, dispatch, bump off, polish off, remove]

2. alter so as to make unrecognizable; "The tourists murdered the French language" [syn: mangle, mutilate]

n. unlawful premeditated killing of a human being by a human being [syn: slaying, execution]

Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being without justification. It is done with malice aforethought. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is a killing committed in the absence of malice, brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. Involuntary manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent (mens rea), recklessness.

Most societies consider murder to be a very serious crime thus believe that the person charged should receive harsh punishments for the purposes of retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, or incapacitation. In most countries, a person convicted of murder generally faces a long-term prison sentence, possibly a life sentence where permitted. In Australia, penalties evident in the Crimes Act 1904, a person who commits murder is liable to imprisonment for life. A life setence is mandatory for those who are found guilty of murdering a police officer. Alternatively, those found guilty of manslaughter can be incarcerated for up to 25 years.

In other countries, where capital punishment exists, the death penalty may be imposed for such an act; however, this practice is now less common.

Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being by another.

Murder may also refer to:

• collective noun for group of crows

Murder is the fifth full length album by the Norwegian black metal band Gehenna.

Murder is a ten episode reality television series which premiered on Spike TV on July 31, 2007. Two teams of civilians investigate a real crime scene and have 48 hours before they must present their findings to detective Tommy Le Noir, after which Le Noir describes what happened at the actual crime scene, how the real investigators came up with their findings. He evaluates the teams and tells them how well they conducted their investigation. The prize is a donation made to a victim's charity. Because of explicit photos of corpses and gruesome materials, the series is not suitable for children under 16.

After the second airing, the show moved from 10:00 PM to midnight.

"Murder" is the eighth single by British band New Order.

Released on the Factory Benelux label in 1984, it is an instrumental piece that contains samples of dialogue from the films 2001: A Space Odyssey and Caligula. It was recorded in winter 1982 during the sessions for the band's second album Power, Corruption & Lies.

The B-side is an instrumental version of the previous single by the group, " Thieves Like Us".

'"Murder" was only released in Belgium as a single, but was available in the UK on import and made number 92. As such, it is the band's only release to miss the UK Top 75.

Murder is a 2004 Hindi erotic thriller film directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Mukesh Bhatt. It stars Emraan Hashmi , Mallika Sherawat and Ashmit Patel in the lead roles and is set in Bangkok, Thailand. It is an uncredited remake of the 2002 Hollywood film Unfaithful.

Murder released on 2 April 2004 and, despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, managed to become a highly successful venture at the box office, earning a "super hit" status from Box Office India. The film was a huge breakthrough for its lead actors, particularly Hashmi and Sherawat. It received an A certificate from the Indian Censor Board for its erotic subject and scenes.

Today, it has become a film series spawning over two sequels, Murder 2 in 2011 and Murder 3 in 2013.

"Murder" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of the U.S. comedy series The Office and the show's 110th episode overall. It was written by Daniel Chun and directed by Greg Daniels. It originally aired on NBC on November 12, 2009. The episode guest stars Andy Buckley as David Wallace, although he only appears via the phone.

The series—presented as if it were a real documentary—depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In the episode, rumors spread that Dunder Mifflin is in serious financial trouble, so Michael Scott ( Steve Carell) tries to distract the office by having everyone play a murder mystery game called Belles, Bourbon, and Bullets. Meanwhile, Andy Bernard ( Ed Helms) uses the game as a way to ask out Erin ( Ellie Kemper), but fears he may have asked out Erin's character, instead of Erin herself.

"Murder" was the first entry in the series written by Chun, and was his first script for the series. The episode also was the inception of two major story arcs, the first being the season-long arc of Dunder Mifflin going out of business and its purchase by the printer company Sabre in the episode of the same name, and the second being the budding romance between Andy and Erin. The episode scored a 4.2/10 rating share in the 18- to 49-year-old demographic, and was watched by 8.046 million viewers. The episode received largely positive reviews from critics, with many highlighting its purposeful ridiculousness.

Murder in Canada is defined as a culpable homicide with specific intentions. It is defined by the Criminal Code, a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada and which applies uniformly across Canada.

The Penalty Law of the People's Republic of China, as amended in 1997, provides for a penalty of death, or imprisonment for life or no less than 10 years, for "killing with intent." However, the penalty for "minor killing with intent" is imprisonment for no less than 3 years. In practice, "killing with indignation" (killing someone who is obviously very harmful to the society) and killings committed in excessive defense are considered "minor."

The Offences against the Person Ordinance (Cap.212) and the Homicide Ordinance (Cap.339) are the main statutes that govern homicide. However, no definition of any type of unlawful homicide is available in the Ordinances. As a result, common law definitions remain largely relevant to Hong Kong.

In India according to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, murder is defined as follows:

On the other hand, culpable homicide is defined as

In Norway an act of murder (mord or drap) may be either planned murder, intentional murder or murder as a result of neglect.

According to the Romanian penal code, the maximum punishment a person can get for the unlawful killing of another is life imprisonment.

In Croatia, murder is classified into 3 categories: ubojstvo, teško ubojstvo and usmrćenje according to the 10th section of the Criminal Law of 2011.

Murder in Cuba is classified into three major categories: murder with special circumstances, murder, and manslaughter.

Murder is a British television crime drama created and written by Robert Jones. Murder is written in a unique style in which all of the protagonists in each episode engage in monologues to camera, giving their version of what happened on the night, as the investigation proceeds from arrest to court hearing to verdict. Four independent films have been written to date, each starring a number of guest artistes. The first, stand-alone film broadcast on 26 August 2012, with a series of three films following on 3 March 2016. The first film was released on DVD on 11 May 2015 via Acorn Media.

Murder is defined in the New South Wales (NSW) Crimes Act 1900 as follows:

Under NSW State law, the maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment, with a standard non-parole period of 20 years, or 25 years for the murder of a child under the age of 18. Attempted murder carries a maximum penalty of life or 17 years imprisonment. In order to be found guilty of murder under the New South Wales Crimes Act 1900, intent to cause grievous bodily harm or reckless indifference to human life is sufficient to secure a conviction for murder. Reckless indifference to human life is characterised by the awareness of the probability (as opposed to possibility) of the accused's act resulting in a person's death (as opposed to merely resulting in grievous bodily harm). Felony murder (called constructive murder in Australian jurisdictions) and murder by omission are also recognised crimes in this jurisdiction.

Section 23 of Crimes Act 1900 provides for the partial defence of provocation, and can refer to actions taken by the deceased both immediately before, and prior to, the murder . If proven by the defence where there is a charge of murder, the jury will be directed to reduce the offence to manslaughter. If prior to or at the time of the committal proceedings an offender enters a plea of guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter on the grounds of provocation, and it is accepted by the Crown, they are entitled to a discount on their corresponding sentence.

However, this is not the case in Victoria, Tasmania or Western Australia - the Crimes Act 1958 (VIC), in Section 3B, states:

In any jurisdiction within Australia, the maximum penalty for murder is life imprisonment; this is the mandatory penalty in Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. Many other jurisdictions (among them Canada, England and Wales, and the Republic of Ireland) sentence anyone convicted of murder, under any circumstance, to life imprisonment. The maximum penalty for murder in the United States (to anyone not sentenced to death) and New Zealand, is also life imprisonment.

In assessing guilt for murder, the intention in the precise method in which death occurred is irrelevant as long as the requisite mens rea and actus reus is satisfied. The relevant actus reus for murder is where an act (or omission) has caused death.

The mens rea for murder is:

1. an intent to kill;
2. an intent to inflict grievous bodily harm,; or
3. reckless indifference to human life, where the defendant foresaw the probability, as opposed to possibility, of his or her actions resulting in death.

In NSW, a person can also be found guilty of murder if they kill a person during or immediately after the commission of a crime that is punishable by imprisonment of 25 years or more.

In Denmark manddrab (manslaughter) is the term used by the Danish penalty law to describe the act of intentionally killing another person. No distinction between manslaughter and murder exists. The penalty goes from a minimum of five years (six years in the case of regicide) to imprisonment for life. The standard punishment for manslaughter - i.e. where there are neither aggravating or mitigating circumstances - is 12 years imprisonment.

Besides the general offence described above there are more specific homicide offences in Danish law that are not considered as grave as manslaughter. Infanticide is defined as a mother who kills her child during or immediately after childbirth due to distress, fear of infamy or under the influence of a debilitation, bewilderment or perplexity caused by giving birth and is punished with imprisonment for up to four years. Euthanasia is defined as killing somebody on their definite request and is punished with imprisonment for up to three years. While attempting suicide is not considered criminal in Danish law, assisting somebody in committing suicide is punishable by imprisonment for up to three years.

Besides deliberate killing two offences regarding the unintentional killing of someone exist in Danish law. Negligent homicide (uagtsomt manddrab) is defined as negligently causing the death of another person. The penalty is a fine or imprisonment for up to four years, under aggravating circumstances imprisonment for up to eight years. Death caused by aggravated battery (vold med døden til følge) describes the situation where the perpetrator has the intention to commit an aggravated battery but where the battery leads to the unintentional death of the victim. The punishment is imprisonment for up to ten years.

In Brazil, homicide is punished under article 121 of the Penal Code. It is split into two different categories: homicídio doloso (where the agent acts with the intent to kill, or taking the risk of killing as being a predictable consequence of his or her acts), and homicídio culposo (where the agent has no intention to kill, nor takes the risk of killing as a predictable consequence of his or her acts). The penalty for intentional homicide varies from six to twenty years; the penalty for unintentional homicide varies from one to three years. kkjsiowahduewhfs'qd

Intentional homicide may be further qualified (qualificado) by any of the following circumstances:

• if it is committed for pay or other reward, or other vile motive;
• if its motivation is futile;
• if committed with the use of poison, fire, explosive, asphyxia, torture, or other cruel or insidious mean, or of any mean that may result in danger to other;
• if committed by treachery, ambush, dissimulation, or other means that turn defense difficult or impossible;
• if committed to ensure the execution, ocultation, impunity, or profit of other crime.

In these cases, penalty varies from twelve to thirty years.

Penalties for intentional murder are increased by one third if the victim is under fourteen or over sixty years old.

Penalties for intentional murder may be reduced by the judge by one sixth to one third, if it was committed for reason of relevant social or moral motivation, or under violent emotion, caused by unjust provocation of the victim.

Penalties for unintentional murder are increased by one third, if it results of inobservation of technical rule of professional activity, or if the agent fails to soccur the victim, does not act to lessen the consequences of the act, or flees to avoid detention.

Penalties for unintentional homicide can be not applied, at the judge's criterion, if the consequences of the crime affect the agent so strongly that the penal sanction reveals unnecessary.

Infanticide, defined as the killing of a newborn, during birth or immediately after by its own mother, under the influence of puerperal state, constitutes a different crime, punished under article 123.

The Brazilian Penal code also has provisions that apply to any crime, including homicide:

The penalty for attempted crimes varies between one and two thirds of the penalty prescribed for the crime (article 14, II).

Impossible crimes are not punished (article 17).

Killing in legitimate defence is not punishable (article 23, II).

There is no penalty if the agent is unable, due to mental disease or incomplete development, to understand the nature of the act or to behave in accordance to such understandment (article 26). Instead, the agent should be interned in a psychiatric institution (article 96).

Minors of 18 are criminally inimputable (and are dealt with according to the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente, instead of the Penal Code) (article 27).

The penalty should be aggravated if the agent is reincident, or if the victim is a relative, a pregnant woman, an ill person, or is under protection of authorities, or if the act is committed during public calamity or personal disgrace of the victim, or with abuse of power or violation of professional duty (article 61).

The penalty should be atenuated if the agent is under 21 years old, or has spontaneously confessed to the crime (article 65).

In the French penal code, murder is defined by the intentional killing of another person. Murder is punishable by a maximum of 30 years of criminal imprisonment (no more than 20 years if the defendant is not sentenced to 30 years). Assassination (murder with premeditation) and murder in some special case (if the victim is a child under 15, parents, people with disabilities, police officer etc.) are punished by a jail time up to life imprisonment (no more than 30 years if the defendant is not sentenced to life). In France except for recidivist the minimum sentence in criminal prosecution is one or two year of imprisonment, which may be suspended if the term of the sentence is under 5 years. Manslaughter is punishable by 15 years imprisonment, or 20 years with aggravating circumstances (the same that make a murderer eligible for life in jail).

By Dutch law, moord ( murder) is the intentional and premeditated killing of another person. Murder is punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, which is the longest prison sentence the law allows. A common misconception is that the maximum sentence is 30 years (20 until 2006): this is the longest sentence that can be imposed other than life imprisonment. Intentionally killing another person without premeditation is called doodslag (manslaughter) and carries a maximum sentence of fifteen years imprisonment or life imprisonment when committed in aggravated circumstances or as an act of terrorism.

In the first decade of the 21st century a life sentence was handed out 26 times by Dutch judges. They will all die in prison unless given parole by Royal decree. In addition to a prison sentence, the judge may sentence the suspect to terbeschikkingstelling (literary: for entrustment), or TBS, meaning detention in a psychiatric institution, sometimes including forced treatment. TBS is imposed for a two years but can be prolonged for one or two years if deemed necessary by a committee of psychiatrists. Normal TBS can only be prolonged up to a term of four or nine years, whereas compulsory TBS can be prolonged indefinitely.

In Finland, murder is defined as homicide with at least one of four aggravating factors:

1. Deliberate intent
2. Exceptional brutality or cruelty
3. Significantly endangering public safety
4. Committed against a public official engaged in enforcing the law.

Further, the offense considered as a whole must be aggravated. A murder doesn't expire.

The only possible punishment for murder is life imprisonment. Typically, the prisoner will be pardoned by the Helsinki Court of Appeals after serving 12 to 14 years of the sentence, but this is not automatic. The President can also give pardon, and previously this used to be the only possibility.

In jurisprudence, the comparison of an actual crime against the "especially brutal or cruel way" standard has been understood to mean comparison to "usual" homicide cases. In recent cases, the Finnish Supreme Court has not considered a single axe stroke on the head, or strangulation to be "especially brutal or cruel". On the other hand, causing death by jumping on a person's chest and head and firing over 10 times upon a person's torso have been considered to fulfill the standard.

Until 2006, a life sentence could be pardoned only by the president. However, since the 1960s, presidents have regularly given pardons to practically all offenders after a period of 12–15 years. In 2006, the legislation was changed so that all life sentences are reviewed by an appellate court after they have been executed for 12 years. If the convict is still deemed a danger to society, his or her case will be reviewed every two years after this. Involuntary confinement to a psychiatric institution may also result, sometimes after the sentence is served. The involuntary treatment ends when the psychiatrist decides so, or when a court decrees it no longer necessary in a periodical review.

If the prerequisites are not fulfilled, but the homicide has been deliberate and premeditated, the convict is sentenced for second degree murder (tappo) to a minimum of eight years in prison. There is also the crime of voluntary manslaughter (surma), which is a homicide under mitigating/extenuating circumstances, with the punishment of four to ten years. Involuntary manslaughter (kuolemantuottamus) has a maximum punishment of two years of imprisonment or fine (see day fine). Infanticide "caused by the mental stress of birth" carries a punishment of at least four months and at most four years in prison.

Taking part in a murderous raid may be punished as murder even if the offender did not succeed in actually killing anyone. This was defined by a Supreme Court rejection of appeal in a case where a motorcycle gang attacked a rival gang at a pizzeria. The main defendant attempted to shoot three rival gangsters. The first was saved by a bullet-proof vest, the second was hit but lost only two fingers, and with the third, the weapon malfunctioned and the targeted gangster ultimately survived. However, other attackers did succeed in murdering three people, and as the main defendant took part in planning and preparing the raid, he was also convicted of murder.

The Portuguese Penal Code was adopted in 1982 and has been revised on several occasions, most recently in 2007. It devotes a whole chapter on "crimes against human life". In fact, the very first crime addressed on that code is murder.

The Portuguese Constitution (adopted in 1976) expressly forbids the death penalty (art. 24, § 2) and life imprisonment (art. 30, § 1). Additionally, since 1997, the Constitution does not allow the extradition of anyone who would be subject to any of those two forms of punishment at the requesting country. Unless binding assurances are given that the suspect will not be sentenced to either death penalty or life imprisonment, the extradition must be rejected.

Additionally, the Penal Code states that no person may be sentenced to a prison term longer than 25 years, whichever crimes he or she has been found guilty of committing. Therefore, a multiple murderer - no matter how many actual homicides - will not serve more than 25 years in prison. Likewise, in the case murder is committed in addition to other felonies, the defendant will be sentenced to a single prison term, for a period no longer than 25 years, encompassing the applicable terms for each crime committed.

It should also be mentioned that, according to the Portuguese Penal Code, only very rarely will a sentence of less than 5-years imprisonment be enforced. In fact, article 75, § 1, states that if an offence is punishable by a prison term or another non-detentive form of punishment, the court should opt for the non-detentive punishment "if this punishment will satisfy adequately the objectives of the criminal law."

Therefore, someone convicted to up to 5 years in prison will be put on probation or (if the sentence if for less than 3 years) will simply have the prison sentence suspended. If the convicted felon commits another intentional crime during the period of suspension or probation, he or she will serve fully the prison term. Probation or term-suspension usually will only be denied in the case of criminals with very long criminal records.

By Italian law, murder (omicidio ) is regulated by articles 575-582, 584-585, and 589 of the Penal Code (Codice Penale).

In general, according to Art.575, "whoever causes the death of a human being is punishable by no less than 21 years in prison"; nevertheless, the law indicates a series of circumstances under which murder has to be punished with life in prison.

It must also be noted that, according to Italian law, any sentence of more than 5 years perpetually deprives (Interdizione perpetua dai Pubblici Uffici) the condemned person of: the voting rights; the ability to exercise any public office; the ability to be employed in any governmental or para-statal position (articles 19, 28, 29). The convict for life is also deprived of his/her quality of parent: the children are either given in custody to the other parent or hosted in a public structure (art.32).

In detail, according to articles 576 and 577 is punishable with life imprisonment murder committed:

1. In order to commit another crime, or in order to escape, of favor, or take advantage from another crime (art.61, sect.2);
2. Against a next of kin (parent or child) and either through insidious means, with premeditation, cruelly, of for futile motives;
3. By a fugitive in order to escape capture, or in order to acquire means of subsistence;
4. While raping or sexually assaulting a person (articles 609 bis, 609 quater, 609 octies);
5. By a stalker against the victim of stalking;
6. Against a police officer engaged in enforcing the law;
7. In a cruel way and/or through the use of torture (art.61, sect.1);
8. For abject and/or futile motives (art.61, sect.4);
9. Against a next of kin (parent or child);
10. Through insidious means;
11. With premeditation.

Cases 1 through 4 (art.576) had been considered capital murder, and therefore punishable by death by firing squad. Since 1946, though, death penalty was discontinued in Italy, and death was substituted with life imprisonment. Sentences of life imprisonment are subject to parole or probation. A person that is serving a life sentence can reach libertà condizionata after 26 years.

Besides the criminal murder detailed above, in Italian law the following cases also exist:

English

Italian

Definition

Article

Infanticide

Infanticidio in condizioni di abbandono materiale e morale

murder of the infant immediately following the birth committed by the mother who is in conditions of material or moral disorder, is punishable with a sentence between 4 and 12 years.

578

Killing on demand

Omicidio del consenziente

the action to kill someone with his/her consent, is punishable with a sentence between 6 and 15 years. This, however, is considered murder if the victim, when giving his/her consent, was under the age of 18, intoxicated, mentally disabled, or if the consent was obtained through violence, menace, or deception.

579

Assistance or instigation of suicide

Istigazione o aiuto al suicidio

the action to help someone to commit suicide, or to convince someone to commit suicide, is punishable with a sentence between 5 and 12 years if the suicide succeeds, or between 1 and 5 years if it does not succeed but a body injury has been made. This, however, is considered murder if the suicide is under the age of 14.

580

Injury resulting in death

Omicidio preterintenzionale

occurs when, as a result of a deliberated act of violence not meant to kill (articles 581,582), the death of a person occurs. This crime is punishable with a sentence between 10 and 18 years (art.584). This sentence can be increased from one third to one half (up to 27 years) if a circumstance stated by articles 576 and 577 occurs, or if a weapon is used.

585

Manslaughter

Omicidio colposo

the action of causing the death of a person without intention, is punished with a sentence between 6 months and 5 years. If the victims are more than one as a consequence of the same act, multiple counts can be added up to 12 years in prison.

589

In Sweden, the following degrees of murder apply:

• Murder (Mord) is defined as a planned taking a life of another, and punishable with imprisonment between 10 and 18 years or life imprisonment. (3-1 § of the Penal Code)
• Manslaughter (Dråp) is defined as murder when it is less severe, either due to the circumstances or the crime itself, and is punishable with a fixed prison term between 6 and 10 years. (3-2 §)
• Infanticide (Barnadråp) is murder committed by a mother on her child "when, owing to her confinement, she is in a disturbed mental state or in grave distress", punishable with any prison term up to 6 years. (3-3 §)
• Negligent homicide (Vållande till annans död, literally causing another's death) is murder committed due to carelessness. For negligent homicide, there are three types of punishments:
  1. A fine ( day-fines) if the crime is petty,
  2. Any prison term up to 2 years, or
  3. Any prison term between 6 months and 6 years if the crime is gross. Gross negligence is distinguished by "the taking of a considerable risk leading to the death, or driving a motor vehicle under influence leading to the death". (3-7 §)

Note Any person under 21 (but not under the age of 15) is sentenced as a ratio of what an adult would receive. For the purposes of this equation a life sentence equals 20 years. The ratio, based on age, starting at 15 going to 20 is; 1/5, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4. This results in a maximum penalty of, in years, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14 (arbitrarily limited). Furthermore, people under 15 may be convicted of crimes, but not subject to legal punishment.

According to the modern Russian Criminal Code, only intentional killing of another human considered as a murder (Russian убийство). The following types of murder are defined:

• Murder per se (article 105 of Criminal Code):
  • common corpus delicti (with no aggravating circumstances listed below). Punished with a sentence between 6 and 15 years
  • qualified corpus delicti. Punished with a sentence between 8 and 20 years, life sentence, or death penalty. Aggravating circumstances:

• Privileged types of murder:
  • Of newborn child by mother (article 106 of Criminal Code), punished with a sentence up to 5 years.
  • In affect state (art. 107), up to 3 years (up to 5 years for multiple killing).
  • Exceeding reasonable level of self-defense (art. 108), up to 2 years.

There are some other articles of criminal code, that provide special punishment for crimes connected with intentional kills:

• seizure of hostages;
• terrorism;
• sabotage;

- punished with a sentence between 15 and 20 years, or life.

• genocide;
• encroachment on person on public or government duty;
• encroachment on law officer or soldier;
• encroachment on person administering justice or engaged in a preliminary investigation.

- punished with a sentence between 12 and 20 years, life sentence, or death penalty.

Separately considered actions that cause unpremeditated death of another person:

• accident killing (art. 108, punished with a limitation of freedom or imprisonment up to 5 years - depends on circumstances);
• death in a traffic accident (art. 263-264, punished with an imprisonment up to 9 years if aggravating circumstances such as alcohol or drugs intoxication or multiply victims exist, also provided disqualification from driving)

Assault that has no purpose to kill, but causes a death of victim, formally is not considered as a murder, but punishment for it almost not distinguished from common murder (art. 111 part 4 provides punishment with a sentence between 5 and 15 years, so only lower limit of punishment slightly easier).

Article 110 of the criminal code also provides punishment for driving a person to suicide (by blackmail, threats or cruelty).

Murder (or its qualified types listed above) is only reason for the death penalty in modern Russia. From 2 February 1999 till 1 January 2010 a moratorium on the death penalty is in effect, with life sentence used instead.

In Switzerland murder (Mord, Assassinat or Assassinio respectively in German, French or Italian) is also used for the premeditated killing of another person, but only if the motives are cruel, disgusting or show an overall disrespect of human life. Penalty ranges from ten years to life imprisonment.

Furthermore, homicide is considered murder if it is cruel (e.g. inflicts great pain on the victim) and/or unusual, done so using explosives or arson, or if it is done to satisfy perverse lusts.

Any homicide not meeting these standards is considered to be a killing (Tötung, Meurtre or Omicidio), and the penalty is not as heavy. Most homicides in Switzerland are considered killings, with the penalty ranging from 5 to 20 years.

The Swiss equivalent for manslaughter is Totschlag, Meurtre passionel or Omicidio passionale. Killers are sentenced for Totschlag when they committed the crime in a very, and especially excusable, state of excitement (a "crime of passion"). For example, a wife who's been mistreated by her husband for years, and kills him in a fit of rage, would be sentenced for Totschlag. The penalty is one to ten years in prison.

There are many other privileged variants of killing, similar to manslaughter, such as killing on demand of the "victim"; or assisted suicide, in which case the punishment is considerably lower; this latter is only punishable if there are selfish motives. The "assisted suicide" in general is not punishable.

The relevant articles of the Swiss Penal Code ( Strafgesetzbuch) are 111 to 117 (and in a certain measure, 118 to 120), which can be read in the Swiss Penal Code, second book, in French, Italian, or German. An official English translation is available, but not legally binding.

In the United States, the law regarding murder is complex, especially due to the principle of "dual sovereignty" that is part of federalism. In most cases there is a hierarchy of acts, known collectively as homicide, of which first degree murder or felony murder is the most serious, followed by murder, followed by manslaughter which is less serious, and ending finally in justifiable homicide, which is not a crime at all. However, because there are at least 53 relevant jurisdictions, each with its own criminal code, this is a considerable simplification.

Sentencing also varies very widely. "Life imprisonment" is common, but its meaning varies widely with some states contemplating a full life's confinement until death.

Capital punishment, also called the death penalty, is a legal sentence in 31 states, and also the federal civilian and military legal systems. The United States is unusual in actually performing executions, with 34 states having performed executions since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. The methods of execution have varied but the most common method since 1976 has been lethal injection. In 2014 a total of 35 people were executed, and 3,002 were on death row.

The Unborn Victims of Violence Act, enacted in 2004, allows for a fetus to be treated as a victim in federal crimes. A provision specifically prohibits prosecutions related to consented abortions and medical treatments.

Murder in Peru is classified into three major categories:

• Murder with Special Circumstances is murder committed with aggravating circumstances, murder of special persons, or multiple murders. Special circumstances include:
  • if it is committed for pay or other reward, or other vile motive
  • if its motivation is futile
  • if committed with the use of poison, fire, explosive, asphyxia, torture, or other cruel or insidious mean, or of any mean that may ** result in danger to other
  • if committed by treachery, ambush, dissimulation, or other means that turn defense difficult or impossible
  • it committed to ensure the execution, ocultation, impunity, or profit of other crime.

Is punishable with life sentence or no less than 15 years in prison

• Murder with No Special Circumstances is premeditated murder or non-premeditated murder with no special circumstances and is punishable with 6 to 35 years in prison.
• Manslaughter is any form of voluntary or involuntary homicide and is punishable with a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.1

Peru

Turkey has a homicide rate of 3.8 killings per 100,000 people. Many homicides are due to the attacks committed by the PKK. There are four types of homicide in Turkey:

Type

Definition

Murder

The premeditated killing of a person, or the intentional killing of a person whilst committing, preparing for, or escaping from any crime, is murder. The punishment for this crime is life imprisonment, although a prison sentence between 20 and 50 years may also be given. Life is sometimes commuted (clemency from the President) to 30 years, or 36 years if given more than one life sentence. PKK terrorists are not usually granted pardons.

|Manslaughter

The deliberate killing of a person without premeditation (or the other circumstances of murder) is manslaughter for which the maximum sentence is 20 years. The sentence depends on the particular circumstances of the crime and its perpetrator.

|Negligent killing or vehicular homicide

Maximum sentence is 3 years (minimum of 11 months for the driver). The perpetrator in this situation can expect to receive some jail time of about 6 – 12 months.

|Infanticide

The killing of a baby less than 12 months old by its mother where she can show that she was suffering from the effects of the birth or breast-feeding. Maximum sentence is 5 years.