Running head: PERSONAL CRIMES ANALYSIS
Personal Crimes Analysis
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Personal Crimes Analysis
Homicide is the killing of a human being by another human being, and comes in various types. In this paper I will be analyzing the different types of homicide, and how they are associated with other forms of personal crimes. I will also identify and differentiate the following types of other personal crimes: assault, battery, mayhem, rape, and statutory rape.
Various Forms of Homicides
Murder Class
Homicide is defined as “the killing of one human being by the act, procurement, or omission of another human being” (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2010.) Murder is one of the three types of criminal homicides and is categorized into several stages: first-degree, second-degree, capital murder, and felony murder. First-degree murder is the deliberate or premeditated unlawful killing. Premeditation is the “act of deliberating, meditating on, or planning a course of action such as crime” (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2010.)
Following first-degree murder is another type of homicide known as second-degree murder. All murders other than first-degree are said to constitute second-degree murder, but only in states in which only two degrees of murder are recognized. Second-degree murder is “ordinarily defined as an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable “heat of passion,” or a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender’s obvious lack of concern for human life” (FindLaw, 2009.) Second-degree murder may best be viewed as the middle ground between first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter.
Another type of murder is capital murder. Capital murder is treated as a separate class of murder and is defined as “murder for which the death penalty is authorized by law” (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2010.) 38 states and the federal government currently authorized the death...