Murder

Murder is where one person kills another person with aforethought.^[1][2][3] If a person does something reckless that makes someone else die, without the intention of killing, it is homicide and may be manslaughter. An accident caused by carelessness may be criminally negligent homicide. Sometimes, a death caused by someone else may not be a crime, for example killing in self-defense. Though, if the killer could've stopped a violent encounter without killing the victim, it's generally not a lawful killing.

A person who commits murder is called a murderer. The legal definition of "murder" and "manslaughter" may be different between countries. A killing in war is not usually called "murder" by those who fight in the war, as it's justifiable homicide. Killing in self defense is usually not "murder". Some countries do not even have manslaughter as a legal concept, and only have murder; the countries that do not have manslaughter charge with murder instead. In fact, the United States did not have manslaughter on the books until the 20th century. England was the first country to indoctrinate manslaughter, and the United States was second.

1. ↑ West's Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 7 (Legal Representation to Oyez). West Group. 1997. ISBN 978-0314201607. Retrieved 10 September 2017. ("The unlawful killing of another human being without justification or excuse.")
2. ↑ "Murder". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 2 October 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
3. ↑ The American Heritage Dictionary (5 ed.). Random House Publishing Group. 2012. ISBN 9780553583229. Retrieved 10 September 2017. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the crime of killing a person with malice aforethought or with recklessness manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.")