CRIMES AGAINST THE PERSON

Crimes against the person include homicide, assault, battery, and rape. All of those crimes are serious offenses. A defendant found guilty of one of them may receive a harsh sentence. However, the law also protects the defendant by defining various levels of these crimes and by considering the circumstances of each offense.

Homicide – the killing of one human being by another – is the most serious of all acts. Homicides may be either noncriminal or criminal.

Some homicides are not crimes at all. Noncriminal homicide is a killing that is justifiable or excusable and for which the killer is deemed faultless. Examples of noncriminal homicide include the killing of an enemy soldier in wartime, the killing of a condemned criminal by an executioner, the killing by a police officer of a person who is committing a serious crime and who poses a threat of death or serious harm, and a killing performed in self-defense or in defense of another.

Criminal homicide murder, the most serious form of criminal homicide, is a killing that is done with malice. Malice means having the intent to kill or seriously harm. At one time, there were no degrees of murder. Any homicide done with malice was considered to be murder and was punishable by death. To reduce the punishment for less grievous homicides, most states now have statutes that classify murder according to the killer's state of mind or the circumstances surrounding the crime.

First-degree murder is a killing that is premeditated (thought about beforehand), deliberate, and done with malice (that is, with intent to kill).

Second-degree murder is a killing that is done with malice but without premeditation. That is, the intent to kill did not exist until just before the murder took place.

Felony murder is a killing that takes place during the commission of certain felonies, such as arson, rape, robbery, or burglary. It is not necessary to prove intent to kill; felony murder includes most killing committed during a felony, even if the killing is accidental. Most states consider felony murder to be first-degree murder.

Voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing committed under circumstances that mitigate (lessen), but do not justify or excuse, the killing. Manslaughter is based on the idea that even "the reasonable person" may lose self-control and act rashly if sufficiently provoked.

Involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing resulting from conduct so reckless that it causes extreme danger of death or bodily injury. An example is a killing that results from playing with a gun known to be loaded.

Negligent homicide is the causing of death through criminal negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise a reasonable or ordinary amount of care in a situation that causes harm to someone.

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