Murder is murder no matter
how you look at it, but the differences in the degrees of murder can mean a
huge difference in the punishment for someone convicted of a specific crime.
Murder is a crime under the Criminal Code of Canada and have to be defended by
a criminal defence attorney. Below are the degrees of
murder.
Homicide
Homicide can be either be non-culpable
or culpable. Non-culpable homicide is not an offence and is the case for
self-defence by both civilians and uniformed personnel. Culpable homicide is
considered an offence and further sub-classified into infanticide,
manslaughter, and murder. It is when someone is responsible for causing death
to another by fear, harm, negligence, or violence.
Murder
A homicide is a murder
when a person willfully causes the death of another individual or causes bodily
harm that will result to death.
First-Degree Murder
Generally, it a
First-Degree Murder when the bodily harm or event was deliberate or planned. If
the murder occurs in the commission of assault with a weapon, sexual assault,
kidnapping, hostage taking, hijacking, or committing terrorist activity, then
it is considered as First-Degree Murder too.
Second-Degree Murder
Cases that are not
First-Degree Murder but was done with intent to harm another knowing it may
result to death is called Second-Degree Murder.
Murder Reduced to Manslaughter
Murder that was committed
in the heat of the moment or due to an emotional outburst (such as in the case
of sudden provocation) is classified under manslaughter. Provocation is defined
herein as a sudden action conducted by the victim to incite the accused to
commit an indictable offence. The ‘sudden provocation’ is a huge factor in
reducing a murder to manslaughter.
Infanticide
A female who is not fully
recovered from childbirth and caused the death of the child is charged with
infanticide.
Manslaughter
A culpable homicide that
is not murder nor murder is classified as a manslaughter and has a wide range
of sentencing/punishment. A murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the defence attorney is seasoned enough to identify
technicalities that can support this.
No matter what the degree,
murder is a serious offence that is punishable by up to a lifetime in prison.
If you or someone you know has been charged with murder, the best thing to do
is contact a criminal defence attorney as soon as possible. Calvin Barry can help. Contact Calvin Barry Law today!
