Homicide

From Free net encyclopedia

For other uses, see Homicide (disambiguation).

Etymology: Latin homicidium, from homo- human being + caedere- to cut, kill

Homicide is the killing of another human being by one or more persons. In contrast, suicide is the self killing of a human being. The word is often misspelled as homocide.

Legally, homicide is classified as either justifiable homicide which is not a crime, or the following crimes:

• murder/murder in English law
• manslaughter/manslaughter in English law
  • voluntary manslaughter
  • involuntary manslaughter
• homicide
  • culpable homicide (in Scots law)
  • negligent homicide (in some criminal jurisdictions)
    • reckless manslaughter
    • mere negligence
  • justifiable homicide
  • legal homicide
• infanticide
• causing death by dangerous driving
• genocide

Defenses against the crime of homicide, where the identity of the killer is not in dispute, include insanity, self-defense (theory) and the partial defences of provocation (and provocation in English law) and diminished responsibility (and diminished responsibility in English law). Defense of property is not per se a defense against homicide, although it has been argued that a homicide where self-defense becomes necessary as a result of undertaking defense of property should be justified.

All murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murders.es:Homicidio fr:Homicide he:הריגה

Template:Law-stub Template:Crime-stub