Ch. 8—Homicide
Homicide: the killing of a human being by another human being. Some jurisdictions extend culpability to unlawful acts causing the death of a gestating fetus.
Three Constituent Offenses
- Murder (requires "malice aforethought" at CL).
- Voluntary Manslaughter — intentional but mitigated killing.
- Involuntary Manslaughter — unintentional killing.
Murder at Common Law
- Intent-to-kill murder
- First Degree: with premeditation and deliberation (P&D).
- Second Degree: without P&D.
- Intent-to-do-serious-bodily-injury murder
- Depraved-heart murder — extreme recklessness manifesting indifference to human life (second-degree).
- Felony murder — homicide during a qualifying felony.
Murder at MPC § 210.2
- Homicides committed purposefully or knowingly (intentionally taking a life).
- Homicides committed with EXTREME recklessness ("circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life").
- Felony murder: a presumption of extreme recklessness when homicide occurs during certain enumerated felonies.
Differences Between CL & MPC
- MPC has no premeditation/deliberation requirement—does not split first/second degree the same way.
- MPC requires extreme recklessness for what CL calls depraved-heart murder.
- MPC limits felony murder to a presumption (rebuttable) rather than strict liability.
Elements of Homicide
- Actus Reus — conduct by ∆: affirmative act OR omission upon legal duty.
- Mens Rea — intent to kill (with or without P&D), intent to do serious bodily injury, depraved heart, or intent to commit a felony.
- Causation — ∆'s conduct must legally cause death of a living human victim. (Some jurxs: death within a year and a day.)
Subtopics
- General Rule
- Murder
- Manslaughter
- Voluntary Manslaughter
- Involuntary Manslaughter
Cases
- State v. Hope, 137 N.E.3d 549 (Ohio 2019) — prior calculation and design.
- State v. Davis, 905 S.W.2d 921 (1995) — momentary deliberation suffices.
- Massachusetts v. Hinds, 927 N.E.2d 1009 (Mass. 2010) — provocation requirement.
- State v. Ramirez, 945 P.2d 376 (Ariz. 1997) — premeditation = actual reflection.
- State v. Burley — homicide / actus reus.
- State v. Blair, 228 P.3d 564 (2010) — felony murder; mens rea derived from underlying felony.
- People v. Portillo — felony murder; temporal scope.
- Noakes v. Virginia — involuntary manslaughter; gross negligence.
- State v. Powell — involuntary manslaughter; intentional violation of safety statute.
- People v. McCoy — gross negligence in driving = involuntary manslaughter.
Reading: pp. 375–84, 388–96, 406–09, 411–22, 423–27, 432–39.