Homicide and murder seem like the same thing to people who do not understand their legal definition. Even though these words sound similar they describe different acts that lead to different outcomes under legal regulations. People who study law or want to know crime severity must learn these terms’ separate meanings.

What Is Homicide?

Under legal interpretation homicide means one person ends another person’s life completely. By law, a homicide denotes someone being killed through the actions of another person. The term exists without judgment and only reflects the result of someone dying at the hands of a human.

Homicide can be:

• Lawful (justifiable or excusable)
• Unlawful (criminal) Examples of Lawful Homicide:
• Killing in self-defense A death happens when law enforcement works according to their job requirements and must take necessary action.
• Accidental death with no criminal intent (in some jurisdictions)

What Is Murder?

A person can commit murder when performing an illegal killing. To qualify it needs a commitment to take someone’s life or seriously hurt them so death results. A specific intention to take a life makes murder stand as a worse moral and legal offense than regular homicide cases. Laws define murder as different levels including first-degree and second-degree plus felony murder.

• First-degree murder: Premeditated and intentional killing. Under second-degree murder law someone acts deliberately but without planning in advance. The person dies as a result of risky felony actions though performing dangerous criminal activities.

Other Types of Unlawful Homicide

There exist additional types of illegal killing methods besides murder. Manslaughter is the act of killing someone without planning or intending to do so (especially while responding to sudden fury or taking risks). o Voluntary manslaughter: Heat-of-the-moment actions.

o Involuntary manslaughter: Accidental death due to negligence.

• Vehicular homicide: Causing death through negligent or reckless driving.

Why the Distinction Matters

Under legal law the particular difference between homicide and murder defines:

• Charges filed
• Possible defenses
• Severity of punishment

A homicide event counts both as a murder and a homicide incident yet only murder incidents contain criminal charges for intentional killings. When police officers engage in trigger incidents some homicides fall under legal defense and may result in no criminal proceedings.

Final Thoughts

The legal system treats homicides and murders differently despite their similar appearance in everyday speech. Under the term homicide all killing acts exist including murder which constitutes an unlawful and deliberate killing. The legal difference between homicide and murder matters for every stage of criminal cases.