Considered one of the most serious crimes that human beings can commit, homicide is based on the murder of one person at the hands of another. Both the causes and the reasons why a homicide is carried out can be extremely varied and it is here where the law establishes different types of penalties and punishments depending on each particular case.
Coming from Latin, the term homicide means “to kill a human being” (homo: man; I will fall: kill). A homicide always implies the use of violence and the methods to carry out such a task may vary, although in general certain patterns of methodologies tend to be seen according to the situation in which the crime occurs (generally, very broadly, homicides of passion are solved with white weapons while those that are the consequence of robbery or assault are carried out with firearms).
For the law, homicide is one of the most serious crimes that human beings can commit, since it directly threatens the safety and well-being of the individuals that make up the community or society. The legislation of each country then establishes the appropriate penalties and punishments for each type of situation, lightening or aggravating them in each case.
According to the way in which the homicide was carried out, we can find different designations. Among the most common, we must point out manslaughter and intentional. He culpable homicide can be described as homicide resulting from accident or negligence (for example, when a person is killed by a car), while homicide it implies the knowledge and intent to murder (for example, in the case of an armed robbery in which an attacked person is killed).
On the other hand, there is also simple homicide, which is the one in which no elements of premeditation (the consideration of killing prior to the act) have been found, treachery (or the perverse and aggravating attitude when committing the crime), advantage (putting the individual in inferiority to kill ) and betrayal. When any of these aggravating factors is present, then one must speak of qualified homicide. Finally, a preintentional homicide It is one in which the death of an individual is the result of an uncontrolled situation in which the intention to kill was not in the initial plans (for example, after a fight in a bar).
Finally, we must add that the law considers certain elements as aggravating when establishing the penalty and among them we must mention the existence of family or blood ties, torture, mutilation, rape or sexual abuse, etc. In the same way, the penalty may be less if it is proven that the homicide was committed in legitimate defense, for the prevention of a major crime, due to unconsciousness, coercion or insanity.
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