时间:2018-12-12 作者:英语课 分类:法律英语


英语课

  What is the difference between 'homicide' and 'murder'? Is there a difference in British and American usage with regard to this term?

Thanks in advance.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A lawyer should really answer this. I'm not a lawyer, but here are a couple of comments.

homicide - Focuses on the killing 1 of a human being, in the same way that 'fratricide' focuses on killing one's brother, 'suicide' on killing one's self, etc. Homicide is not necessarily a crime. If a police officer kills someone who shoots first at him, this is not illegal, not murder. 'Justifiable 2 homicide' is the phrase I often hear.

murder - Focuses on the unlawful killing of a human being. Involves some degree of premeditation or intention (first degree and second degree murder, murder in cold blood or in hot blood). Careless, accidental killing is 'manslaughter' rather than 'murder'.

I look forward to a lawyer's more detailed 3 explanation.

Best wishes, Clive

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the explanation. I agree with what you've said. What prompted me to ask this question is because my student asked me for the definition of 'homicide'. After explaining to him, I referred to his dictionary to make sure, and was surprised by what I read. It states that 'homicide' is AmE and 'murder' is BrE or maybe the other way round. I cannot remember which is which.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Same usage here in the U.S.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As I understand it, "homicide" is the blanket term for any form of unlawful killing.

Within homicide are sub-terms : murder [killing with malice 4 - planned and intentional 5 killing] and manslaughter [unlawful killing without malice or premeditation] or culpable 6 homicide [used in Scotland - killing as the result of improper 7 conduct].

Recent legislation has made changes to these definitions, but essentially 8 you can say that homicide and murder are synonymous.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Singapore, if someone is found guilty of murder, he or she will be sentenced to death by hanging.

In the case of 'homicide', it will be a long prison term.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems that in Singapore, the term "homicide" is being used where in Britain we would use either manslaughter or culpable homicide.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The answer of the original question depends on the jurisdictions 10. In some jurisdictions homocide includes various murders like falony murder and capital murder and therefore it is the wider term, which explains why they are used sometimes synonymosly. Maybe you should limit the question to Singapore or to the further jurisdictions of interest? In Germany they are not synonym 9 but it would take too long to explain.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Singapore, I read in the newspaper "culpable homicide not amounting to murder". Is this term used in America or Britain?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As you will see in my earlier reply, "culpable homicide" is used in Scottish law.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was referrring to the whole phrase 'culpable homicide not amounting to murder'. Is this phrase used in America or the UK?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, I've never heard it. Clive

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry - no. A Google search indicates that the phrase is one used in India and the Far East. No US or UK hits (apart from media reports)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I presume it is wrong usage; it is Singaporean English.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, I don't think so. The Google search showed that there is a murder charge called this in the Indian legal structure, and it may well be the same in Singapore.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

But Indian English is not recognised, right? Neither is Singapore English. I think I would accept AmE, BrE or Australian English.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What exactly are you looking for? Your student asked about the difference between homicide and murder, and that has been clearly answered. As to the phrase you are questioning, legal terms for criminal acts vary from one country to another. In India, this phrase seems to be a correct legal term for a crime. It may also be one that is used in Singapore. It is not necessarily a question of inaccurate 11 local English.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi all, Sorry, I know this is off topic but I really couldn't find a better opportunity to ask this question. Is the word one a typo, or was it intended to be used here? Thank you. Best wishes, Peaceblinkfriend

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi, It's OK, not a typo. Clive

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay. I now know it is not a typo. Thank you, Clive. Could you please tell me why it is used here? What does it do to the sentence? Thanks again. Best wishes, Peaceblinkfriend

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi.

the phrase is one used in India and the Far East

Could you please tell me why it is used here? What does it do to the sentence?

'One' is in this kind of context a noun that refers to a single person/thing. Often, this is something that has been mentioned previously 12.

eg I looked at a red car and a blue car. I bought the blue one.

eg I need to buy a car. I want one that is red.

Best wishes, Clive

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Clive

A Google search indicates that the phrase is one used in India and the Far East. No US or UK hits (apart from media reports) If I remove 'one', does the meaning change?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi,

Not much in this case. However, the use of one here tends to suggest that there are others. Consider these more concrete examples.

eg The car that the police are looking for is damaged at the front.

eg The car that the police are looking for is one damaged at the front. This version more explicitly 13 recognizes that there may be several cars with damage at the front.

Best wishes, Clive



1 killing
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财
  • Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
  • Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。
2 justifiable
adj.有理由的,无可非议的
  • What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。
  • Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。
3 detailed
adj.详细的,详尽的,极注意细节的,完全的
  • He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
  • A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。
4 malice
n.恶意,怨恨,蓄意;[律]预谋
  • I detected a suggestion of malice in his remarks.我觉察出他说的话略带恶意。
  • There was a strong current of malice in many of his portraits.他的许多肖像画中都透着一股强烈的怨恨。
5 intentional
adj.故意的,有意(识)的
  • Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
  • His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。
6 culpable
adj.有罪的,该受谴责的
  • The judge found the man culpable.法官认为那个人有罪。
  • Their decision to do nothing makes them culpable.他们不采取任何行动的决定使他们难辞其咎。
7 improper
adj.不适当的,不合适的,不正确的,不合礼仪的
  • Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
  • Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。
8 essentially
adv.本质上,实质上,基本上
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
9 synonym
n.同义词,换喻词
  • Zhuge Liang is a synonym for wisdom in folklore.诸葛亮在民间传说中成了智慧的代名词。
  • The term 'industrial democracy' is often used as a synonym for worker participation. “工业民主”这个词常被用作“工人参与”的同义词。
10 jurisdictions
司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 ); 裁判权; 管辖区域; 管辖范围
  • Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
  • James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。
11 inaccurate
adj.错误的,不正确的,不准确的
  • The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确,而且夸大其词。
  • She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。
12 previously
adv.以前,先前(地)
  • The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
  • Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
13 explicitly
ad.明确地,显然地
  • The plan does not explicitly endorse the private ownership of land. 该计划没有明确地支持土地私有制。
  • SARA amended section 113 to provide explicitly for a right to contribution. 《最高基金修正与再授权法案》修正了第123条,清楚地规定了分配权。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
标签: homicide
学英语单词
'Capability' Brown
adjustment of transport loss
APV homogenizer
automechanism
bathometers
beet trimmer
benefit claim
benzylpenicillin,benzyl penicillin
cervical alae
changed wall thickness pipeline
chernis
Chigchiin Gol
choke coil assembly
chondromatrix
Coberley
coefficient of linear extensibility
complicated instruction set computer
congruent points
control blocks
convertor unit protection
cyclewear
cytochalasins
deferred rental income
disciform degeneration of macula
double-horn loudspeaker
edgeways
equipotent
erecton hinge
eye douche
family Hydrocharitaceae
flat maximum
floatlight
fuel pit sprinkling line
Färgelanda
Ganasini's tests
gas drain
hard gainer
hear something from somebody
hepatization
impact-collision ion-scattering spectroscopy (iciss)
indigents
interrupt mask out
INTEST
Jübek
kakaho
kickshoe
lashups
lawled
Le Rozier
lilioceris cheni
litter size
load-time deflection curve
loop distributing
Lysimachia formosana
machinery bulkhead
mazerolle
mechanically controlled brake
meera
Mequinenza(Mequinensa)
Michelia sphaerantha
microichthyurus ilanensis
midcourse guidance of interplanetary flight
my(o)-
mycobacteria
NAVSEA
nickel iron alkaline battery
nonprostitute
padover
palaeozic
penalty area
photo-onycholysis
pluvialiss
posnetts
preperitoneal space
primary component cooling water system
Primula prevernalis
punctulated
radio outfit
Ravi Shankar
reactive confusional state
recharge area of groundwater
rescindable
rough someone up the wrong way
round-bottom
second-line
sententiously
Sergestes
silure
Skala-Podil'ska
sociedad
soraismus
stereocartograf
sum readout
the scale
three-colour binocular sensor
Tunkers
twin ground plate
U. C. C.
unilobar
Vanke
wag-leg
Wedelia urticifolia