From the legal point of view there are two terms to define the death of a person as a result of the action of another: homicide and murder. Both expressions have significant differences, we will tell you about them below.
What is the crime of homicide?
Homicide is defined in article 138 of the Penal Code. It is determined as homicide when a person causes the death of another. There are two types that are willful and reckless. As its name indicates, in the first case there is an intention to kill and in the second there is not.
Types of homicides and penalties set for each
The penalties will be different because killing someone on purpose is not as serious as doing it accidentally. When the homicide is involuntary, the prize that can fall to you is a sentence of up to four years in prison, which can reach fifteen years if the homicide is intentional.
Does the crime of homicide prescribe?
Article 131 of the Penal Code shows that the crimes prescribe:
- At twenty years, when the maximum penalty associated with the crime is imprisonment for fifteen or more years.
- At fifteen, when the maximum penalty stipulated by law is disqualification for more than ten years, or imprisonment for more than ten and less than fifteen years.
- At ten, when the maximum penalty set by law is imprisonment or disqualification for more than five years and does not exceed ten.
- At five, other crimes, except minor crimes and crimes of libel and slander, which prescribe after a year.
What is the crime of murder? Main differences with homicide
Murder is specified in article 139 of the Criminal Code and is defined as a more serious form of homicide due to the criminal intensity it requires and the circumstances in which it occurs.
The biggest difference between homicide and murder is that murder is considered an aggravated form of homicide due to the circumstances in which the death occurs: through treachery or cruelty or when another is killed to facilitate the execution of another crime.
Why is murder more serious?
The seriousness of the crime of murder is due to one of the following circumstances:
- Treachery: exists when the crime is executed using a form or means designed to prevent the defense of the victim. It can be said that the expressions of nocturnality (committing the crime at night when the attacker is prevented from defending) or unprotected (taking the victim to a place where they cannot ask for help and the attacker can benefit from it) are considered treacherous.
- Cruelty: occurs when the victim's suffering is deliberately increased, causing suffering that is not necessary to cause her death.
- Concurrence of reward or promise: this situation occurs when the culprit acts for a reward or promise, the economic motive being the greatest severity that guides the death of the victim. They are all related to money, to the commercialization of other people's lives.
- To facilitate the execution of another crime or to prevent it from being discovered.
What are the penalties for murder?
Murder can be punished with a sentence ranging from 15 to 25 years in prison, increasing the sentence to reviewable permanent prison when it occurs simultaneously with any of the following circumstances:
-That the victim is under the age of sixteen or is a particularly vulnerable person due to her age, illness or disability.
- That the murder is committed after having committed a crime against sexual freedom against the victim.
- That the crime is committed by a member of a criminal group or organization.
- Who has been sentenced for the death of more than two people.
Does the crime of murder prescribe?
Taking into account article 131 of the Penal Code, the crime of murder prescribes after twenty years when the maximum sentence indicated for the crime is fifteen years or more.
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