There are a lot of crime shows on TV and they use a language that not all people know. One of the terms that continues to pop up is homicide. Criminal homicide happens when a person purposely, knowingly, and recklessly or negligently causes the death of another person. Homicide is a devastating crime that affects families all over the United States.
There are specific elements that are associated with homicidal deaths. To better understand the crime, it is important to know what the distinguished impact is on the surviving family members compared to other forms of dying. They include:
1. The intent to harm-One of the most distinguishing factors in a homicidal death is the intent of the murderer to harm the victim. This is one of the main factors that set it apart from other crimes.
2. Stigmatization-Often society will place blame on the murdered victims for their own death. This often means that the families of the victims are blamed for the murder because people tend to believe the family should have controlled the behavior that led to the death.
3. Media and public view- Co-victims are unable to grieve in a private manner because the media wants coverage of the story. This makes things very difficult because the public wants to know what happened, but the families really need privacy.
4. Criminal or juvenile justice system- Co-victims of homicide do not have a lot of support within the legal system. In the court room they often have to face the defendant and hear about the horrible details of the crime.
5. Bereavement-Traumatic grief over homicidal death is different from other forms of grief because of the intensity and its duration. Often criminal cases can take years and may not happen at all. This does not allow the closure families need in order to start the healing process.
In 2002 there were 16,204 homicides in the United States. African Americans are six times more likely to be victims and seven times more likely to commit homicide than Caucasians. About three quarters of the victims are males, and about ninety percent of offenders are males. One-third of murder victims and almost half the offenders are under the age of 25. These are very scary facts and they need to be taken seriously and clearly states that there is a need for early intervention.
Each state in the United States decides what the punishment is for homicide and what degree it is. The degree is considered the severity of the crime. For example in New Hampshire is it broken down like this:
1. Capital murder-punishable by death.
2. First degree murder-which is a mandatory life sentence.
3. Second degree murder-punishable by any term up to life.
4. Manslaughter-punishable for a term not to exceed more than 30 years.
5. Negligent homicide-punishable by three and a half to seven years in jail.
Each state has the right to decide how homicide is classified and what elements make a crime a homicide. This is one of the reasons the judicial process can be so confusing. There are a lot more difficulties prosecuting a crime when more then one state is involved.
