Types of Serious Crime and Punishment (Murder, Manslaughter, and Assault and Battery)
Serious punishments exist for serious crimes. The most serious crimes in our nation are considered felonies (see What is a Felony?). Below are descriptions of three of the most serious felony offenses and the ways that they are punished.
Murder
While to many of us, murder may be the act of taking another’s life, in law, murder is defined as the intentional act of killing someone. In this sense, intention involves malice aforethought; that is, a person has time to consider his or her actions and acts with the desire to take another human being’s life. Under this definition, a person must be sane to commit murder, have no legal authority or excuse to kill someone, and act deliberately.
Murder is often classified as first degree or second degree. The definitions of each degree vary slightly according to each state, but generally, first-degree murder is considered any murder that was premeditated or occurred under special circumstances. Special circumstances include things like the murder of a police officer, judge or witness to a crime.
Second-degree murder is generally considered any murder that is not pre-meditated. Non pre-meditated murder may include killing someone in the heat of the moment if you knew that your actions would take the life of another. To understand what these degrees of murder charges mean in your state, it is important to look at your state’s statutes or consult a criminal defense attorney.
No matter what degree of murder a person is charged with, the prosecution must prove that there was malice for a person to be convicted of murder. Non-pre-meditated murder may be hard to prove, but may also be implied. Malice may be implied from a reckless lack of concern for other human beings demonstrated by actions that needlessly put other people in danger.
While it may seem obvious that the person who committed a murder is the one who will be charged with murder; however, it is important to be aware that, in some states, individuals who were involved in crime with a partner who killed someone may also be charged with murder. In addition, a person does not need to be killed instantly for an individual to be charged with murder. Rather, a person must die within a year of the attack for a death to be considered a murder.
Sentencing for murder varies from state to state, but murder is generally punishable by life in prison or the death sentence. Both degrees of murder are subject to life in prison; however, second-degree murder convictions generally have a shorter incarceration time before they are eligible for parole while first-degree murder convictions are imprisoned for life without eligiblity for parole.
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is different than murder, even though both crimes involve the taking of another human life. Where murder has elements of intentionality and malice, manslaughter does not. Manslaughter is neither intentional nor premeditated and is generally classified in two levels: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.
Voluntary Manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter occurs in the heat of passion or while committing a felony. The reason this is not considered murder is due to the individual’s state of mind and lack of forethought for carrying out murder. When a person loses control of him or herself in a heated argument, it is generally not considered murder since the person did not set out to kill the other person, even though the situation escalated to such a deadly climax. Remember, murder is intentional, manslaughter, even if it is voluntary, is not. Voluntary manslaughter is provoked killing, not pre-meditated killing. If malice and intention can be proven in any circumstance, an initial charge of voluntary manslaughter may easily be changed to a more serious charge of murder.
Involuntary Manslaughter
Involuntary manslaughter occurs when there is no intention to kill but someone dies as a result of someone else’s negligence or recklessness. Negligence occurs when a person acts with carelessness or inattention that causes damage to another person. While negligence is often the leading factor in personal injury claims (see Understanding Personal Injury Lawsuits), some injuries lead to death. And if that death occurs within one year of an accident, it is considered manslaughter and negligence becomes a criminal matter.
Recklessness is another reason for manslaughter. When a person acts with total disregard for the safety of others in a particular situation and a death results from another individual’s actions, it is considered involuntary manslaughter. A person may be reckless in the way he or she drives and cause the death of another human being due to that recklessness. This would be considered involuntary manslaughter.
Sentencing for manslaughter varies from state to state and generally carries a less severe penalty than murder. In fact, some instances of involuntary manslaughter are not considered felonies, but misdemeanors (see What is a Misdemeanor?). In most cases, a manslaughter conviction carries jail time and a fine.
Assault and Battery
Assault and battery is a combination of two crimes: threat and actual beating. A person may be charged with assault or battery individually or assault and battery combined. Depending on the severity of the crime, an assault and battery charge may be a misdemeanor or a felony and the punishment for such activity is based on the severity of the crime.
Assault
Assault occurs when there is a threat or actual attempt to harm another individual. As such, assault is both a civil and criminal wrong. This means that a person who commits assault may be charged and tried for the crime and be sued for damages by their victim. Assault may or may not result in actual physical contact, but the threatening individual must create a state of peril for their victim and be capable of carrying out their attack for a threat to be considered assault.
Battery
Battery is an intentional physical action against another individual. It is the act of striking another human being with an intention to harm them. If a physical encounter is not intended to cause harm, it is not considered battery, even if there are damages after the encounter. Battery may also be both a civil and criminal offense allowing a victim to recover damages at the same time a suspect faces criminal charges.
Harsh sentences for assault and battery exist when these crimes are carried out against vulnerable people groups such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Severe penalties may also apply when these crimes are: committed while engaging in criminal activity, directed toward minorities or carried out against a spouse or someone you share a home with. Assault and battery can result in criminal charges that result in jail time and fines, having to pay for a victim’s damages and having a restraining order taken out against you. When a person is tried for assault and battery their sentence is largely determined by the circumstances leading up to the offense in addition to their prior criminal history.
If you are charged with a felony, it is important to contact an attorney immediately after your arrest to help ensure that your rights are protected and you understand the charges that you face. An experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to help you develop a strong defense for the charges that you face (see How to Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney and What are Common Defenses for Criminal Charges?).