Murder vs. Culpable Homicide — Understanding the Key Differences
According to Sir William Blackstone , “When a person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being and under the king’s peace, with malice aforethought, either express or implied.” When a person deprives someone of his life, he may or may not be liable for murder but in a broader sense, he has committed culpable homicide. So we can say that “All murders are culpable homicides but all culpable homicides are not murders.” In this article, we will discuss the differences between the types of culpable homicides and murder. Culpable Homicide The term Homicide, in its broadest sense, is the act of causing the death of another person. It refers to the unlawful killing of a human being, excluding situations where the killing is justified or excused by law. Homicide is a criminal offense that is categorized into different degrees or classifications, such as justifiable homicide, accidental homicide, culpable homicide, and murder depending on the jurisdic