Murder and Manslaughter

[anaserrata]

I understand that murder requires malice aforethought but I heard a while back that 2 factors contributed to a homicide which is considered "murder." I just can't seem to remember what those 2 things were. Can anyone help me? Also, besides the "malice aforethought" what's the difference between murder and manslaughter?

[retdetsgt]

Try malice AND forethought.

[Samuel]

Look up the definitions in your state codes/statutes. Do a search on Google.

[CPL1897]

MURDER and MANSLAGHTER are CHARGES, like CAPITAL MURDER,1st DEGREE MURDER, etc..ITS a HOMICIDE regardless of how the person died as long as its caused by an action of another person, IT WILL VARY by each states STATUTES, however I THINK THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION YOU ARE TRYING TO ASK, is INTENT, without INTENT in most cases it could be "lowered" to a MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE....

[anaserrata]

MURDER and MANSLAGHTER are CHARGES, like CAPITAL MURDER,1st DEGREE MURDER, etc..ITS a HOMICIDE regardless of how the person died as long as its caused by an action of another person, IT WILL VARY by each states STATUTES, however I THINK THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION YOU ARE TRYING TO ASK, is INTENT, without INTENT in most cases it could be "lowered" to a MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE....

Thank you for your beneficial response.

[oscarmitre]

English common law can help you with this. Manslaughter used to be a catchall under the old Saxon law before the Normans invaded and imposed their legal system and absorbed the Saxon law. If someone injured someone else they were made to pay a fine to the person. If someone killed someone else then the fine was increased, I think the term was "wergild" or something similar. Murder as a separate offence wasn't really conceptualised by the Saxons. But Saxon law was also very regional in England so different forms of unlawful killing had different consequences.

When the Normans invaded they imposed the law, as I said, as part of their political wipeout of the Saxons. The King's law, not regional law, became prominent and it was enforced by the royal justices who held courts where previously there had been just the neighbourhood get-together to sort out all kinds of disputes.

Killing someone intentionally or pursuant to the commission of a felony became something the King wanted punished and that is how the law of murder developed. Manslaughter was still there but it was reserved for instances of human killing human out of recklessness or negligence. Again, it was against the King's law and the King extracted punishment for a breach of his law and not a breach of the personal law as the Saxons treated it.

Perhaps Blackstone might be a good authority on the issue.