Murder Law

Although not listed by BJS, the following offenses are also punishable by death under the federal statute, though it is not clear that the death penalty would be constitutional for these offenses under Kennedy v. Louisiana (2008) since they do not require a murder: -Trafficking in large quantities of drugs (18 U.S.C. 3591(b)) -Attempting, authorizing or advising the killing of any officer, juror,or witness in cases involving a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, regardless of whether such killing actually occurs. (18 U.S.C. 3591(b)(2)).

Violent crime includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault. Information about murder is obtained on a yearly basis from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports. There are two measures for non-fatal violence—the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCVS measures rape/sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault.

In general, 1st degree murder is grave murder planned and committed in a cruel way against one or more persons, under special circumstances. The special circumstances include accompaniment of other offenses such as, kidnapping, hijacking, robbery, with an intention of financial gain, assault on pregnant women or government officials on public duty, or involving extreme torture. This is considered more serious if the person committing the offence has committed such a crime before. 2nd degree murder, in general, is premeditated murder against spouse or relatives, or due to personal gain and interest, without the presence of special circumstances. It is considered slightly less grave than first degree murder. In some countries second degree murder is also defined as unplanned killing due to an accident.

In a landmark right-to-life victory, President George W. Bush on April 1 signed into law the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, also known as "Laci and Conner's Law." The President's action culminated a five-year campaign by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) to win enactment of the legislation, which recognizes unborn children as victims when they are injured or killed during the commission of federal or military crimes of violence.

This legislation seeks to expand upon 1969 U.S. federal hate-crime law by extending its scope towards bodily crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability, in addition to the current provisions of bodily crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived race, color, religion, and national origin. It would also codify and expand the funding and investigative capabilities of federal officials for aiding their local counterparts.

Murder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent (or malice aforethought), and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide (such as manslaughter). As the loss of a human being inflicts enormous grief upon the individuals close to the victim, as well as the fact that the commission of a murder deprives the victim of their worldly existence, most societies both present and in antiquity have considered it a most serious crime worthy of the harshest of punishment. A person convicted murder is typically given a life sentence or even the death penalty for such an act.

Murder occurs when one human being unlawfully kills another human being. The precise legal definition of murder varies by jurisdiction. Most states distinguish between different degrees of murder. Some other states base their murder laws on the Model Penal Code.

First, mass murderers are generally apprehended or killed by police, commit suicide, or turn themselves in to authorities. Serial killers, by contrast, usually make special efforts to elude detection. Indeed, they may continue to kill for weeks, months, and often years before they are found and stopped-if they are found at all. In the case of the California Zodiac killer, the homicides appeared to have stopped, but an offender was never apprehended for those crimes.

The Model Penal Code moved away from the traditional common law approach to murder. A key feature of the MPC is its use of standardized mens rea (criminal mind) terms to determine levels of mental states, just as homicide is considered more severe if done intentionally rather than accidentally. These terms are (in descending order) "purposefully", "knowingly," "recklessly", and "negligently", with a fifth state of "strict liability".

Chapter Two pertains to offense conduct. The chapter is organized by offenses and divided into parts and related sections that may cover one statute or many. Each offense has a corresponding base offense level and may have one or more specific offense characteristics that adjust the offense level upward or downward. Certain factors relevant to the offense that are not covered in specific guidelines in Chapter Two are set forth in Chapter Three, Parts A (Victim-Related Adjustments), B (Role in the Offense), and C (Obstruction); Chapter Four, Part B (Career Offenders and Criminal Livelihood); and Chapter Five, Part K (Departures).

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 represents the bipartisan product of six years of hard work. It is the largest crime bill in the history of the country and will provide for 100,000 new police officers, $9.7 billion in funding for prisons and $6.1 billion in funding for prevention programs which were designed with significant input from experienced police officers. The Act also significantly expands the government's ability to deal with problems caused by criminal aliens.

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) was founded in 1976 in response to the Supreme Court decision in Gregg v. Georgia which permitted executions to resume in the United States. Our mission: abolish the death penalty in the U.S. and support efforts to abolish the death penalty world wide.

A non-profit, public benefits organization serving families and friends of homicide victims.

The Death Penalty Information Center is a non-profit organization serving the media and the public with analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment. The Center was founded in 1990 and prepares in-depth reports, issues press releases, conducts briefings for journalists, and serves as a resource to those working on this issue. The Center is widely quoted and consulted by all those concerned with the death penalty.

Presentation of a list of the FBI's most wanted murderers.

Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights is an international, non-governmental organization of family members of victims of criminal murder, terrorist killings, state executions, extrajudicial assassinations, and “disappearances” working to oppose the death penalty from a human rights perspective.

Founded in 1976, Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation (MVFR) is a national organization of family members of victims of both homicide and executions who oppose the death penalty in all cases. MVFR includes people of many different perspectives. Because violent crime cuts across a broad spectrum of society, our members are geographically, racially and economically diverse.

This resource will, unfortunately, be an ever-growing memorial to the many innocent victims of violent crime and a source for help for murder victim survivors, information on murder statistics, news items, discussion and support.

There have been several advances in the area of crime victims' rights in recent years, including enactment of the Justice for All Act of 2004 (JFAA). A key component of JFAA is the Crime Victims' Rights Act, which applies certain, specific courses of action to help enforce victims' rights. Activities have included developing and expanding services to victims, including establishing and ombudsman office within the U.S. Department of Justice and a nationwide notification system (described below).

Between 1976 and 1994, almost 37,000 children were murdered. 66% were less than 1 years old and 58% of those from 1 - 4 years old were killed by beating with fists, or blunt objects or by kicking.

Preliminary figures indicate that, as a whole, law enforcement agencies throughout the Nation reported a decrease of 3.5 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to their attention for the first six months of 2008 when compared with figures reported for the same time in 2007. The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. The number of property crimes in the United States from January to June of 2008 decreased 2.5 percent when compared with data from the same time period in 2007. Property crimes include burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft. Arson is also a property crime, but data for arson are not included in property crime totals. Figures for 2008 indicate that arson decreased 5.6 percent in 2008 when compared to 2007 figures.

Capital Punishment in the United States provides annual data on prisoners under a sentence of death, as well as those who had their sentences commuted or vacated and prisoners who were executed. This study examines basic sociodemographic classifications including age, sex, race and ethnicity, marital status at time of imprisonment, level of education, and State and region of incarceration. Criminal history information includes prior felony convictions and prior convictions for criminal homicide and the legal status at the time of the capital offense. Additional information is provided on those inmates removed from death row by yearend.

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