Questions about Murder
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the legal definition of murder under common law?
Under common law, as set out by jurist William Blackstone citing Edward Coke, murder is the unlawful killing of any reasonable creature in being and under the king's peace, committed with malice aforethought, either express or implied. The key distinguishing element from other homicide is malice aforethought, which courts have interpreted to include intent to kill, intent to cause serious harm, depraved-heart recklessness, and felony murder.
What is the difference between first-degree and second-degree murder?
Second-degree murder generally corresponds to common law murder, while first-degree murder is an aggravated form that typically requires premeditation, deliberation, or specific methods such as poisoning or lying in wait. In Canada, premeditation is the primary distinguishing factor, while in the Netherlands the only relevant factor is whether the killing was premeditated.
What is the felony murder rule and how does it work?
The felony murder rule holds that a person who kills someone during the commission of an inherently dangerous felony such as burglary, arson, rape, robbery, or kidnapping may be convicted of murder regardless of intent to kill. It was formally abolished in England in 1957 and struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada, but continues to apply in the United States.
How has the murder rate in the United States changed over time?
US murder rates fell below 2 per 100,000 by 1900, rose during the first half of the twentieth century, dropped after World War II, and reached a low of 4.0 in 1957. The rate climbed through the 1960s and stayed in the 9 to 10 per 100,000 range for much of the period from 1972 to 1994, before falling to around 5 per 100,000 in more recent times.
What is the year-and-a-day rule in murder law?
The year-and-a-day rule held that a defendant could not be charged with murder if the victim survived more than a year and a day after the attack. England and Wales abolished it through the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996. The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that retroactive elimination of the rule by state courts did not violate the Constitution's Ex Post Facto Clause.
What countries or regions have the highest murder rates in the world?
Latin America and the Caribbean recorded the highest regional murder rates, with more than 2.5 million murders between 2000 and 2017. According to a 2011 UN Office on Drugs and Crime survey, Honduras had the highest national rate at 91.6 per 100,000, followed by El Salvador, Ivory Coast, Venezuela, Belize, Jamaica, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Zambia.