Criminal Law – Degrees of Murder
Criminal Law – Degrees of Murder
Chances are, if someone is suspected of killing someone else and there is enough evidence, that person is going to be charged with murder. But what exactly does that mean?
At common law, murder was defined as the unlawful killing of another human being with intent or malice aforethought. Malice aforethought can be a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but generally falls within one of several categories (i.e. intent to kill, intent to inflict grievous bodily harm, reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life or “abandoned and malignant heart,” …