Homicide Victimization Notes

Homicide: General term referring to “the killing of one human being by another.”
Three types of homicide:
- Excusable
- Justifiable
- Criminal homicide/murder

Occurs in defense of life or property.
FBI defines it as restricted to:
- “The killing of a felon by a peace officer in the line of duty.”
- “The killing (during the commission of a felony) of a felon by a private citizen.”
Examples include:
- Stand your ground laws
- Castle doctrine

Defined as “the purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent killing of one human being by another.”
Four subtypes:
- First-degree murder
- Second-degree murder
- Felony murder
- Manslaughter

Murder committed with deliberate premeditation and malice.
Three elements:
- Premeditation: The act was considered beforehand.
- Deliberation: The act was planned after careful thought (not on impulse).
- Express malice: Actual malice.
- Implied/constructive malice: When death occurs due to negligence rather than intent.
Example of implied malice:
- Leaving a child alone due to unavailable childcare, and the child dies from an accident.

Murder committed with malice but without premeditation and deliberation.
The offender intended to cause harm, but the murder was not planned.
Example:
- A husband comes home early and finds his wife having an affair.
- The husband grabs a handgun from the closet and shoots and kills both.

An unlawful killing, but the degree of responsibility is less than for murder.
- Voluntary manslaughter: Intentional infliction of injury that is likely to and actually does cause death.
  - Example: Using excessive force in self-defense.
- Involuntary/negligent manslaughter: Death resulting from gross negligence.
  - Ignoring the possible danger or potential harm to other people.

In the United States, homicide victimization data are not collected through victimization surveys.
Three sources to collect homicide data:
- Uniform Crime Reports (UCR)
- Supplemental Homicide Reports (SHR)
- National Center for Health Statistics

Provide case-specific information for each murder reported in the UCR.
Includes demographic information of victims and offenders (if caught), weapon used, and situational information.
One of the few sources of official data that provide detailed information on crime victims.
- Males, young, and intra-racial (same-race/ethnicity).

Another source of nationwide mortality data collected since the early 1930s.
Data are collected from death certificates that are forwarded to the Vital Statistics Division of the NCHS by coroners and medical examiners.
While all types of deaths are reported, there are specific codes for homicides (justifiable vs. criminal homicides).
Vast majority of deaths ( $68\%$ ) classified as homicides in 2010 involved a firearm.

Homicide victimization is one of the few types of criminal victimization that can be compared across countries.
Source of International Homicide Victimization Data:
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
- World Health Organization

World Health Organization (WHO)
- Mortality data are collected for 120 countries from individual death certificates and reported in aggregate form annually by the WHO.
- There is no distinction made between intentional and unintentional homicides.
- War-related casualties versus homicides make comparisons hard over time.

Risk for homicide victimization is not evenly distributed among the population.
Your risk is dependent upon a number of characteristics
- Sex.
- Age.
- Race.
- Urbanity and socioeconomic status.

Incident Characteristics
- Location
  - Private dwellings
- Substance use
  - Murderers and victim likely to have consumed alcohol, drugs, or both

Filicide: killing of a child by a parent or a caretaker
Infanticide: homicides in which the victim is under 1 year of age (type of filicide)
Parricide: murder of one’s parent--includes patricide and matricide
Eldercide: murder that involves a victim who is 65 years of age or older
Intimate partner homicide: homicide involving spouses, ex-spouses, persons in current or de facto relationships, boyfriends or girlfriends, or partners of same-sex relationships

Femicide: gender-based violence
- Diana Russell
  - “The killing of females by males because they are female”
Honor killings: committed with the idea that the perpetrator is protecting or regaining his honor, or that of the family or community
- The National Criminal Records Bureau of India
  - Sex, age, and motive

Homicides involving multiple victims
- Serial murder
- Mass murder (4 or more victims in one location, in one incident--Aurora, Colorado movie theater)
- Spree murder (killing of multiple people at two or more locations with no break)

Explain how an individual’s behavior may contribute to his or her own victimization
Many homicides involve some degree of victim precipitation
- The victim may have been the first person to use physical force or start the violence that eventually resulted in his or her own death

Most often applies to close family and friends of the primary homicide victim
- Witnessing the murder of your mother at the hands of her husband
Can also be applied to individuals who witness a homicide and professionals who, because of their occupation, deal with a homicide’s aftereffects
- Law enforcement
- Bereavement counselors

Bereavement: state of being sad after an individual you have cared for has passed
Additional stressors
- Death or casualty notification
  - Family members of the deceased are notified of their loved one’s passing
- Involvement in the criminal justice system