Abstract
This essay examines such social problem as crime against person. It can take two forms: murder and manslaughter. Both of these crime forms against people are of great danger. While committing it, one violates the person’s right to life. A human, his or her life and health, honor and dignity, integrity and security are recognized as the highest values of the state. Therefore, the state is responsible to the people for ensuring that right, taking the responsibility to protect the life of every person as everyone has the inherent right to life.
Key words: crime, murder, manslaughter.
Crimes against Persons – Murder and Manslaughter
Wise man (Homo sapiens) emerged 40 thousand years ago. 35 thousand years people lived using primitive communal systems, jointly engaging in economic activity. Even then, there were murders and tribal wars for land area. Over the years, people became more patient, but they did not lose primitive skills to kill their own kind.
Previously, murder had occurred because of the land. However, with the development of production, the emergence of private land ownership, and the means of production and other benefits there were new reasons for intentional infliction of death such as envy, hatred, and malice. Hence, the owner wanted to protect somehow his/her property against attacks. For this purpose, they needed a “machine of violence” that would be able to help them in such situations. The first public formations played a role of such units. Unfortunately, with their appearance, new causes of murder started happening. That was the thirst for power and profit, perhaps the most ruthless and uncompromising consequences that came to the present time. Therefore, the more people evolved as a species, the more reasons for the murder arose.
Thirst for power and domination over people persists even to the present day, seven thousand years after the emergence of the first states. Someone is satisfied with small possession, and someone is not.
Turning to the history, it can be seen that there were many people having the thirst for power. They are Alexander of Macedon, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, etc. They all were the great conquerors. Nevertheless, such high-profile people were responsible for the lives of many millions of people. Naturally, there exist certain rules of war and military action. However, in fact, the bottom line is not changed because many people were killed intentionally by others that exactly fits the term “murder”.
There is also another type of crime. That is manslaughter. Traditionally, manslaughter is relatively common crime. It can be noted that deaths often occurs as a result of all possible kinds of careless killing than as a result of deliberate murder. Causing death by careless killing often involves the death of several people. Public risk of manslaughter is particularly important in the case of rapid global changes caused by unprecedented development of science and technology and extensive use of sources of increased danger. Thus, murder and manslaughter, undoubtedly, are the types of crime against people, and this essay is going to prove it.
Argument 1
Murder is the gravest crime against human. According to Becker, murder does more damage than auto theft. In criminal law, murder can be defined as illegal and guilty causing of death in attempt upon the life of another person. As an object of criminal protection, life includes public relations existing within the protection of life in the biological sense because the object of attack in the murder is not only biological identity but also a certain set of social relations aimed at the protection of an individual. Criminal law contains a number of laws that protect such relationships. Human life begins with physiological childbirth. Beginning of physiological childbirth is the moment when the development of fetus is over; it is ripe for an independent life outside the mother’s body. That is the beginning of a new life; a new citizen presents himself/herself. Since then, the criminal law must take the life of every citizen under its protection.
People, their lives and health, honor and dignity, integrity and security are recognized as the highest values of the state. Therefore, the state is responsible to the people for ensuring that right and taking the responsibility to protect the life of every person. Everyone has the inherent right to life. (REİSOĞLU, 1999) This guarantee is that no one can be arbitrarily deprived of his/her life. Murder causes extremely severe damage not only to the victim but also his/her family and relatives. Therefore, murder is the crime against life of a person, and it is of great public danger.
Argument 1 Factor 1
Alcoholism is one of the main leading factors that causes an intentional murder. Regular alcohol intoxication can occur in different ways. The behavior of the person who is intoxicated is usually caused by not only the direct influence of alcohol but also other factors related to education, normal behavior, psychology, and morality. Intoxication and processes in the psyche caused by alcohol can act as direct causes of murder. Typically, domestic drunkenness as chronic alcoholism and alcohol degradation of a person often cause the crime committing, including murders.
Argument 1 Factor 2
A substantial number of murders is committed with hooligan motives, debauch, and scandal. The causes and conditions that precede hooliganism are mostly consistent with the causes and conditions that lead to committing murders. In this regard, it should be particularly noted that the situation of impunity bullies that takes place in their consciousness inspires a sense of irresponsibility and often put them into committing murders. Murders are often the results of problems in everyday life (debauch). A considerable number of murders has domestic nature.
Murders committed at home are usually preceded by systematic scandals, fights, and threats between the accused and the victim. According to Van Wormer (2008), “In the United States and Britain, as elsewhere, a woman is more vulnerable to violence in her home than in public.” Family, neighbors, cohabitants, employees of the defendant and the victim often know about this, but in many cases, that category is not used in any action against people who commit murder. The lack of proper response to immoral behavior of the perpetrator that preceded the crime is one of the essential conditions contributing to the committing murders. Murders often contribute to serious shortcomings in the existing educational work, particularly among young people (the educational work is not always carried among young people).
Argument 2
Manslaughter is recognized as an act being committed with carelessness or negligence. Causing death in negligence characterized by the fact that the perpetrator did not foresee the possibility of the victim’s death making any action (or inaction), although, with the necessary attentiveness and foresight, he or she could have and should have foreseen it. Causing death in carelessness is recognized as an act of a perpetrator, if he/she foresaw the possibility of the victim’s death because of his/her actions or omissions but without sufficient reasons for confident hoping for preventing its occurrence. In such cases, a person does not intend committing a crime or violating any rules and does not even produce the possibility of death.
Comparison of public danger (depending on the severity) of manslaughter and intentional murder shows that careless homicide equivalent to the common types of murder even for skilled people is consistent with a social danger of a regular murder, especially when it comes to special trends through murder negligence.
The objective side of the murder consists of: arrogant or negligent act or omission which poses a real threat to the life of any other person; a causal link between the act or omission that creates a real threat to the life of any other person, and being a result causing death of the person. Despite the fact that person did not want to kill anyone, such kind of crime is of great danger as every person has the inherent right to life. Thus, manslaughter is also the crime against people.
Argument 2 Factor 1
One of the factors that affect the manslaughter is carelessness. As it was mentioned above, a person foresees the death of another person because of his/her actions or inactions that constitutes a real threat to that person. However, the former lightly expects certain specific circumstances that are capable, in his/her view, of averting death. Slight miscalculation is the brightest feature of criminal carelessness.
Argument 2 Factor 2
The second factor that affects manslaughter is negligence. Criminal negligence is characterized by the fact that a person does not foresee the possibility of death of another person because of his/her actions or inactions that poses a real threat to the man. In such situation, a person could have and should haveforeseen it if acting more prudently.
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Argument 3
One more type of murder is also a crime against people. That is preferred crime.
One of the preferred crimes is murder of a newborn child by his/her mother. This type of murder is still qualified as manslaughter. Social danger of the criminal act is expressed in violation of the absolute right of a person for life that belongs to him/her by nature. A feature of this type of killing is that the law binds it with certain objective and subjective factors that may be considered as mitigating circumstances.
Argument 3 Factor 1
One of the factors that contribute to this crime is the fact that pregnancy is often undesirable, and physiological childbirth can have a negative impact on the psyche of a woman. The object in such situation is life. The objective side is expressed in wrongful infliction of her newborn baby’s death. The subjective side is characterized by deliberate offence.
Argument 3 Factor 2
Another factor can be unemployment. The number of unemployed people increases every year. Miserable existence and lack of material resources encourage people to commit crimes, including murders. In such situation, the homicide of a newborn baby is considered as intentional murder.
Conclusion
Analyzing all the arguments and factors mentioned above, one may conclude that the murder and manslaughter are clearly the crimes against people, and they are of grave danger. There is no killing without cause. There is always a need for a determining factor in killing accomplishment, which, in this situation, is the cause, motive, and condition. The cause is understood phenomenon that gives rise to another phenomenon to be later regarded as a consequence. The reasons include the social phenomena and processes that cause death. Such reasons are the specific, private deficiencies in various spheres of economic, ideological, family, home, and many other conditions of social life, which itself do not generate murder but facilitate its committing. The right to life is the universal, natural law generally recognized as human and civil rights, which is enshrined in international instruments and in the constitutions of many countries. Thus, this right should not be violated at any cost. Violation of the right to life is punishable by law. However, among those who commit murder, there is a large number of prisoners. This indicates serious drawbacks in the penal institutions acting upon rehabilitation of sentenced persons because of insufficient work of the prosecution and trial of people released from prison. Poor conditions of sentenced offenders in prison are one of the main reasons contributing to the manifestations of recurrence, particularly in relation to the murder committing. In many cases, early release from prison not only helps to rectify released but also provokes in some people the sense of impunity for crime. Thus, government should actively fight with crime against people and take measures of preventing crimes in general.
