Murder
Murder is a legal term referring to a crime that results in the death of another person or persons. There are different degrees of murder, and not all crimes that result in the death of another person will be considered to be murder. Serial killers are studied more intensely than other murderers since their killing has patterns or other psychological meaning.
First degree murder is the harshest form of murder. In order to be considered to be first degree murder, the perpetrator will have needed to have planned the death before the act takes place. Rarely will a death be considered as first degree murder unless it was planned ahead of time.
Murder is the act of killing another human being with “malice aforethought”. Malice aforethought is defined to be the intent to kill or to inflict bodily injury, either express or implied. If a deadly weapon is used, intent to kill will necessarily be implied by a court of law.
Voluntary manslaughter occurs when a person intentionally kills another person after “adequate provocation” meaning that there has been action that was sufficient to cause an “ordinary person” to “sudden and intense passion” such that he loses self control.
Human physical and psychological well-being is damaged and destroyed when people are deliberately killed by other people. There are millions of primary and secondary victims of murder throughout the world, and human society, as a whole, is a tertiary victim of murder. Despite this, people are often engrossed by stories of murder.
What leads people to kill and what effect this has on society as a whole? One looks to motive, mental illness, and other human defects (i.e. biological and psychological features), and faulty society (i.e. social structure). Many fascinating and useful case studies from around the world have been conducted to probe deeper into the world of a murderer.
What is more facinating to me is the person that murders that is caring and loving but kills when they are not needed any more. The helper and peacemaker that kills when their lies and deceipt are made evident to all. The cheerleader mom that kills when her daughter does not make the cheerleading squad. These are murderers that you never see coming.
