Capital murder
Capital murder refers to a category of murder in some parts of the US for which the perpetrator is eligible for the
Great Britain
In Great Britain, this offence was created by section 5 of the Homicide Act 1957. Previously all murders carried the death penalty on conviction, but the 1957 Act limited the death penalty to the following cases:
- Murder in the course or furtherance of theft; s.5(1)(a)
- Murder by shooting or by causing an explosion; s.5(1)(b)
- Murder in the course or for the purpose of resisting, avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest, or of effecting or assisting an escape or rescue from legal custody; s.5(1)(c)
- Murder of a police officer acting in the execution of his duty, or of a person assisting a police officer so acting; s.5(1)(d)
- Murder of a prison officer acting in the execution of his duty, or of a person assisting a prison officer so acting, by a person who was a prisoner at the time when he did or was a party to the murder; s.5(1)(e).
In all other cases murder carried the mandatory penalty of imprisonment for life.
Section 1 of the Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 abolished the separate category of capital murder, and all murders now carry the mandatory penalty of imprisonment for life.
China
China has become one of the most notorious capital punishment practitioners, employing methods such as
China's homicide rate has dropped and about 6,522 people were murdered in 2021. Reasons for this could be that civilians are not able to own guns and that the public is watched by millions of surveillance cameras. Intentional homicide will be sentenced to life imprisonment, fixed-term imprisonment for at least 10 years, and death. Minor instances in this circumstance will receive fixed-term imprisonment of more than 3 years, but less than 10.[3]
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, this offence was created by section 10 of the
Sections 1(4) and (5) of the Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Act 1973 read:
(4) For the purpose of any proceedings on or subsequent to a person's trial on a charge of capital murder, that charge and any plea or finding of guilty of capital murder shall be treated as being or having been a charge, or a plea or finding of guilty, of murder only; and if at the commencement of this Act a person is under a sentence of death for capital murder, the sentence shall have effect as a sentence of imprisonment for life.
(5) In this section "capital murder" means a murder which immediately before the commencement of this Act is a capital murder within the meaning of section 10 of the Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.[4]
Republic of Ireland
The
- of a Garda (police) or prison officer "acting in the course of his duty"; or
- for a political motive, of a foreign head of state, diplomat, or government member; or
- in the course or furtherance of certain offences under the Offences against the State Act 1939:[7]
- Usurpation of functions of government (Irish republican legitimists believed the IRA Army Council was the legitimate government of Ireland)
- Obstruction of government (judicial, or executivebranches)
- Obstruction of the President
- Interference with military or other employees of the State
- Furtherance of the aims of an organisation which is unlawful for reasons other than tax resistance (this applied to the Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army)
To be found guilty of capital murder, a person had to be charged in the
The
United States
Legal meaning
The term "capital murder" is used in only eight U.S. states; however, 27 states and United States federal government currently allow capital punishment,[21] and each has its own terminology for an offence punishable by death. In most states, the term "first-degree murder" is used; others may use the term "aggravated murder" (such as New York, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia (since 2021)), and some use simply "murder". The seven states that use the term "capital murder" are Alabama, Arkansas, California, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Texas. The state of Georgia uses the term "malicious murder".
Not all offenses are parallel between the states. In some,
Although legal definitions vary, capital murder in the United States usually means murder involving one or more of the following factors:
- The victim is a police officer, firefighter, paramedic or similar public safety professional and was killed while on duty
- The victim is killed during the commission of another violent felony, such as armed robbery, kidnapping, arson, etc. (felony murder)
- The victim is tortured, raped or sexually assaulted, particularly if the victim is a child
- Multiple murders are committed pursuant to one another[citation needed]
- Murder-for-hire [citation needed]
- Terrorism [citation needed]
- The victim is murdered based on race, national origin, and other associated groups [citation needed]
- The victim is a witness to a crime
Some states may include other factors which amount to capital murder or its legal equivalent.
Punishment
Capital offenses in the United States are not punishable by death exclusively. Most states afford courts the option of imposing either the death penalty or a life sentence upon conviction, though lesser sentences are rare and in some cases legally impossible. Depending on the state, the presiding judge may determine the sentence, or the decision may be left to the jury.
The United States Supreme Court has placed limitations on the use of the death penalty and has prohibited its use in cases where the offender is mentally incompetent,[22] or was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense.[23]
Sources
Citations
- ISBN 1437734936.
- ^ "Chapter 1 of Title 8 of Part 1 of the California Penal Code". California Office of Legislative Counsel. 1872–2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ^ "Is Murder Legal in China?". China Justice Observer. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Digitised copy from Legislation.gov.uk
- ^ Criminal Justice Act 1964 s. 1(1)(b), 2
- ^ Criminal Justice Act 1964 s. 1(1)(b)
- ^ §§6, 7, 8, 9, and 18 Offences Against the State Act, 1939 Irish Statute Book, Acts of the Oireachtas
- ^ Criminal Justice Act 1964 s. 3(1)
- ^ Criminal Justice Act 1964 s. 3(2)
- JSTOR 44027413.
- ^ Criminal Justice Act 1990 s. 1 and Second Schedule
- ISSN 1393-3132. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
The 1990 Act also abolished the distinct offence of capital murder and introduced in its place a new offence of 'murder to which section 3 applies'
the existing offence of murder under section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1990, formerly known as capital murder
Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 applies to detention in connection with the following offences: [...] Murder to which Section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1990 applies (includes the murder of a Garda or prison officer)
In substance, the 1990 Act abolished the death penalty and thus the separate crime of capital murder of which Mr. Callan had been convicted. However, what replaced capital murder was what might be called s. 3 murder involving the same ingredients as the former crime of capital murder.
[A man] has been charged with the capital murder of Detective Garda Donohoe and is due to go on trial
- "Jury begins deliberations in trial of Stephen Silver for murder of Garda Colm Horkan". The Irish Times. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
Mr Justice Paul McDermott ... outlined to the jury the verdicts available to them; guilty of the charge of capital murder, not guilty of capital murder but guilty of murder, guilty of manslaughter or guilty of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
- Lally, Conor; Dunne, Ryan. "Emotional scenes as Stephen Silver convicted of capital murder of Det Colm Horkan". The Irish Times. No. 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
Ms Justice Tara Burns at the Central Criminal Court told the jury members the possible verdicts they could consider related to capital murder, murder simpliciter, or manslaughter either because of diminished responsibility or self-defence.
https://www.economist.com/china/2023/11/23/china-says-it-has-achieved-a-miraculously-low-crime-society#:~:text=The%20recorded%20homicide%20rate%20per,%25%20and%20assaults%20by%2040%25. https://nypost.com/2021/02/18/chinas-authoritarian-execution-system-spares-no-prisoner/ https://www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/how-many-crimes-are-punishable-by-death-in-china