Homicide is when a human being kills another human being. Not all homicides are crimes.
Murder is an example of unlawful homicide.
In the United States, unlawful homicides are divided into different categories, depending on the mental state of the person who committed the homicide. Different jurisdictions have different names for the crimes.
Planning to kill a person and then killing the victim is usually the most serious type of homicide and might be called premeditated murder, or first-degree murder, depending on the jurisdiction.
Killing someone without premeditation, or as a result of extreme violence or sudden passion, may be called manslaughter. The person might not have been planning to kill his victim, but his violent actions caused the victim’s death.
Less severe types of homicide include accidental or negligent homicide.
Pronunciation
Sample Sentences
The jury convicted the defendant of reckless homicide after he threw rocks from an overpass on cars speeding down the highway.
The hitman was found guilty of premeditated murder after carefully planning the execution of his victim.
Whenever someone dies under suspicious circumstances in our city, the police homicide unit investigates.
« Back to Glossary Index