Homicide is the killing of another person. Murder is "the willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another" as defined by the the FBI. Murder is the most serious crime that is universally held by all cultures. Punishments for murder are the most severe. Some states argue that capital punishment or the death penalty is a fitting and just penalty for taking another person's life. There are many different forms of the death penalty. Electrocution and lethal injection are just a few methods. Shooting squad and hanging are still options although they are almost never used. There are some people who suggest that the death penalty is cruel and unusual and is therefore against the law. They also say that it is immoral. One of their arguments is "why should we stoop down to their level in order to get revenge." These people indicate that it is worse for them to be locked up for the rest of their lives than to be simply put to death. Either way the debate goes on and more people are put to death in the intervening time period.
There are also some that suggest that abortion is a form of murder. This depends on the definition of a human being. Is the fertilization of an egg a human or is when the egg implants into the wall of the uterus? Others imply that it is after the first trimester that you can call the fetus a human being or even a baby. This creates more controversy since some women say they have a right to their own bodies and would fight a law that would infringe upon their rights.
I would also like to point out that killing the enemies in war is also homicide. It is during wartime and the point of war is to defeat your enemies, usually by killing more of your enemy's forces than he does to yours. The more you kill, the more you can wear them down. Then you take them over thus winning the war and whatever you were fighting for. Some might say that it is justified to kill during wartime since if you did not kill your opponent he would kill you instead. I think that it is pointless homicide and can perhaps even be defined as murder.
I would like to pose a question to those who read this. Suppose that someone attacks you and you defend yourself because there are no other options that will allow you get away unharmed. If in defending yourself the attacker dies, is it still defined as murder? You killed that person and you probably meant to hurt them at the time you were being attacked.
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/state_by_state
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You seem to have strayed a bit from the material in Chapter 5. Stay on track.
ReplyDeleteAlso, your question doesn't seem to consider the material on self-defense, does it?
Finally, the writing needs improvement still. It didn't flow well because all of the sentences were simple. It sounded too choppy.