HOMICIDE

Homicide (Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English. Although homicide does not define an illegal act necessarily, sometimes it is used synonymously with "murder."

Homicidal crimes

Criminal homicide is a malum in se crime, and every legal system contains some form of prohibition or regulation of criminal homicide.

Homicidal crimes in some criminal jurisdictions include:

* murder/murder in English law
o Felony murder
o Capital murder
* manslaughter/manslaughter in English law
o voluntary manslaughter
o involuntary manslaughter
o Intoxication manslaughter
o Death by dangerous driving
o reckless manslaughter
* Criminal Homicide
o culpable homicide (in Scots law)
o negligent homicide
o Criminally negligent homicide

Many forms of 'homicide' have their own term based on the person being killed.

* infanticide - Killing of an infant
* fratricide - Killing of one's brother; in a military context, killing of a friendly combatant
* sororicide - Killing of one's sister
* parricide - Killing of one's parents
* patricide - Killing of one's father
* matricide - Killing of one's mother
* mariticide - Killing of one's spouse
* uxoricide - Killing of one's wife
* filicide - Killing of one's child
* regicide - Killing of a monarch.
* genocide - Killing of a race

Non-criminal homicide

Main article: Justifiable homicide

Homicides do not always involve a crime. Sometimes the law allows homicide by allowing certain defenses to criminal charges. One of the most recognized is self defense, which provides that a person is entitled to commit homicide to protect his or her own life from a deadly attack.

Some defenses include:

* Self-defense (theory)
* Insanity defense
* Duress

Homicides may also be non-criminal when conducted with the sanction of the state. The most obvious example is capital punishment, in which the state determines that a person should die, but homicides committed during war are usually not subject to criminal prosecution as well.

Some state sanctioned homicides include:

* Capital punishment
* War
* Rajm or Qisas