The 4 differences between homicide and murder

Let's look at the distinguishing features of murder and manslaughter as criminal acts and figures.

Often, sadly, we see on the news that a homicide or a murder has been committed. Since both words are often presented together, it is common for us to believe that they mean the same thing and think that they can be used interchangeably.

Both expressions have a lot to do with each other, but what makes something a homicide or a murder varies a lot, and also implies different legal consequences.

Below we will look at the differences between manslaughter and murderexplaining a little how these two crimes are punished in the Spanish Penal Code.

What are the differences between homicide and murder?

In many occasions we hear the words homicide and murder, thinking in many occasions that they are synonymous, since they are related to the same act that is to have taken the life of another person.

Actually, we can say that both are related and, in fact, all murders are homicides, but not all homicides are murders. The difference between the two words lies in the circumstances and the premeditation that may have been involved in committing the act.

What is a homicide?

Legally, an act is only considered a homicide if there is no premeditation. There may or may not have been intentionality, but it has appeared at the moment of committing the act, that is, it was not planned to kill the other person beforehand but, because of a dispute, an accident or simply because of a safety failure, one person has killed another.

In the Spanish Penal Code, homicide is regulated in Article 138 of the Criminal Code.being the first of the typified crimes.

If the homicide has been committed with intent, we speak of intentional homicide, such as a domestic quarrel in which the murderer stabs his partner or an armed robbery in which the thief has mortally wounded his victim. On the other hand, if the death of someone has been committed as a result of imprudence, human accident or error, we speak of involuntary or culpable homicide and examples of this case would be the death of a patient due to medical negligence, a train accident because the driver was absent-minded or a hit-and-run.

What is murder?

Murder is considered a more serious form of homicide because of the circumstances under which it occurs. given the circumstances under which it is carried out.

In the Spanish case, murder is regulated in Article 139 of the Penal Code, which contemplates three assumptions that justify the aggravation of the penalty and the distinction.

1. Treachery

It is considered that there is premeditation when the crime is committed using a form or means intended to prevent the victim from being able to defend himself or herself.. It is considered to be treacherous when the crime is committed at night, taking advantage of the fact that the victim is asleep (sleeping people), or in the open, which consists of taking the victim to a place where he/she cannot ask for help and the attacker can benefit from it.

It is also raised within the idea of premeditation the idea of defenseless people, such as newborn children, helpless elderly, people with disabilities....

When this type of person is killed, the homicide is often classified as murder in many cases, since it is understood that the perpetrator took advantage of the helplessness of his victim.. It should also be said that there are those who would consider that it would be a case of intentional homicide, assessing the possibility that there may or may not have been premeditation.

2. Overkill

Overkill occurs when the suffering of the victim is deliberately and inhumanely increasedcausing suffering that is not necessary to cause the victim's death.

It could be considered ensañamiento to commit the stabbing repeatedly, being the last stab the one that kills the victim. On the other hand, it would not be considered ensañamiento in case the first stabbing has been the one that has caused the death since the rest of stabbing that could have been done, as the victim is already dead, does not suffer.

3. Concurrence of price, reward or promise

We say that there has been concurrence of price, reward or promise when the person who has committed the crime has done so with the intention of obtaining something in return, the most common motive being economic.The economic motive is usually the most common.

These three assumptions are the ones that allow us to clearly delimit what is a simple homicide, regardless of whether it is voluntary or involuntary, from a murder.

4. Qualification of penalties

Thus, we can see from what we have seen so far that the main difference between a homicide and a murder is that there must have been premeditation and at least one of the assumptions of a murder must be met.

The differences between homicide and murder are also reflected in the qualification of the penalties that can be received for having committed one of them. that can be received for having committed one of these two crimes. Bearing in mind that manslaughter is of a less serious nature than murder, it makes sense to see that the penalties for manslaughter are lighter and milder, with differences also depending on the type of homicide.

In the Spanish context, manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of 4 years if the crime was committed recklessly and 15 years if it was committed intentionally. The penalties for the perpetrator of the crime vary greatly, since taking the life of another person is a serious act in which many factors may have been involved, ranging from 1 to 4 years in the case of manslaughter and from 10 to 15 years in the case of intentional manslaughter.

Murders, on the other hand, receive higher penalties based on the fact that they are premeditated, and therefore there is always an intentionality, together with the fact of wanting to take advantage of the disadvantages that the victim may have (nighttime, open space...). The penalties for murder range from 15 to 20 years imprisonment, and can be increased to 25 years in the case of two or more murders. in the case of two or more of the above-mentioned cases.