Murder and homicide criminal law
Murder and homicide criminal law
Murder and homicide criminal law includes those criminal offenses that carry a particularly high threat of punishment. These are the offenses listed in Section 74 (2) GVG and Section 120 (2) GVG, i.e. offenses that are directed against the life of a person, so-called offenses resulting in death. These include, in particular, offenses with the intent to kill. The offenses under capital criminal law are all crimes within the meaning of Section 13 StGB, i.e. unlawful acts that are punishable by a minimum prison sentence of one year or more. For such serious offenses, the legislator even imposes the highest and most severe penalty in the German Criminal Code in particularly serious cases with a sentence of life imprisonment
What is the difference between murder and homicide
In German criminal law, murder is defined in Section 211 of the German Criminal Code (StGB). Murder is the intentional killing of a person. It is an offense of particular gravity that is punishable by life imprisonment. According to Section 211 of the German Criminal Code (StGB), in addition to the intentional killing, a special characteristic of the offense of murder must be present. The characteristics of murder include malice (i.e. killing from ambush or in a deceitful manner), base motives (such as greed or sexual motives), the cruelty of the act or the commission to cover up another crime. The presence of one of these murder characteristics makes a homicide a murder and leads to a harsher punishment
Which crimes are subject of murder and homicide criminal law
In Germany, criminal law distinguishes between various homicide offenses, the most important of which are as follows
– Murder (§ 211 StGB): Murder is the intentional killing of a human being. In addition to the killing, one of the murder characteristics specified in the law must be fulfilled, such as malice, base motives, cruelty or the commission of another criminal offense. Murder is punishable by life imprisonment.
-Homicide (§ 212 StGB): Manslaughter occurs when someone intentionally kills another, but without the special characteristics of murder being fulfilled. Manslaughter is often an act committed in a heated argument or out of a spontaneous emotion. Depending on the circumstances, manslaughter can be punished with a prison sentence of up to fifteen years.
– Negligent homicide (§ 222 StGB): This is the killing of a person through negligence, for example by violating traffic regulations or neglecting the duty of care. The penalty for involuntary manslaughter can be a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years.
-Homicide on demand (§ 216 StGB): This is the killing of a person at their express and serious request. Killing on demand is illegal in Germany, but is exempt from punishment under certain circumstances, for example if it is based on on medical euthanasia
Criminal defense in relation to the accusation of a criminal offense under capital criminal law is associated with particularly intensive preparation for the entire criminal proceedings and requires a high degree of ability to consistently and actively confront both the investigating authorities of the homicide commission and the public prosecutor’s office. The ability to take the legally decisive and decisive measures for a comprehensive defense in such situations is the focus of our work.
