Murder

[Dark Angel]

What do you think defines murder.

I think murder is the killing of a random person for no reason. I mean this quite literally, if you ask why he did it and his reply is "for poops and giggles", then it wasn't muder.

That's not to say he doesn't deserve to be punished, just it shouldn't be called murder.

Maybe manslaughter, cause it doesn't fit, sounds worse than murder.

[Abby]

My definition of murder: the killing of another individual for shits and giggles, revenge, or even just some random premeditation about killing that funny old lady who's walking across the street. Manslaughter is the accidental killing, like friendly fire, and then there's 3rd, 2nd, and 1st degree murder, and all of them are premeditated.

Meh, my dad's a lawyer. I had to sit through lawyer classes.

[Mandalorian]

Murder is the purposeful taking of life for any reason. 1st degree murder is premeditated, 2nd degree is an act of passion, 3rd degree is... truthfully I don't know. Manslaughter is the accidental killing of another human being.

[qwerty]

Frankly... this sort of subject sometimes gives me a headache, simply because mental doctors and politicians seem to give different names for this sort of thing, and come up with different explanations and theories as to why someone killed someone else (or why anyone does anything, for that matter.)

But well, for whatever it's worth, I will give my opinion on murder and how murder itself is defined.

Frankly... I was always taught that there is a definition between "murder" and "killing".

Like, if you end the life of an animal in order to eat it, (which is how we get chicken legs and hamburgers, along with a variety of other meats) it's not "murder", because you can only "murder" your own species. Well, at least, that is how my dad has always defined it. But also, when you get right down to it, animals kill each other all the time simply for survival. The lioness kills a zebra to have something to eat, and to have something to feed her cubs. But also, the zebra may strike back if the lioness is unlucky, kick her just right in the chin, and kill her. But that is simply self-defense. Kill or be killed, law of the jungle, right?

But in humans, the case is different. Mostly because we're more civilized, or at least I certainly hope so. And well, killing and murder will always vary from individual to individual. The animal-rights people, or even a Buddhist, will believe we are committing murder and atrocities by killing animals and eating them. But people like me, I have eaten meat for as long as I can remember and I don't have a problem with it. And frankly... well, animals should be treated well, I believe, because they are living beings too. But frankly, some animals exist solely to serve as food. Why do you think people raise herds of cattle or pigs or whatnot in the first place?

But anyway, moving on... when it comes to a human killing a human, again it varies. If it's in killing done in war, I'd say it can actually compare to the scenario I mentioned above of the zebra killing a lion--it's self-defense. Although I guess that depends on the situation too. Like, it depends on which side is really the victim in the war, and who started it, and whatnot.

As for a random killing... well, I once heard on the news that one brother killed another over a dispute on how to open a bag of potato chips. I think I would consider that cold-blooded murder, because it shows a complete disregard for life, if you could simply kill someone--especially a family member!--over such a trivial dispute.

Okay wow, I guess this post was long-winded. But it is part of my nature to be long-winded sometimes--frankly nothing is a yes-or-no question for me, I always have to contemplate and spill out every angle XD