student asking question

What's the difference between "homicide" and "murder"?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

The difference between "homicide" and "murder" is in their legal definitions. "Homicide" refers to the killing of any person, intentional or otherwise. Thus, the accidental killing of someone is considered to be a homicide. "Murder" refers to the premeditated (planned) killing of another person, and is usually more punishable than homicide. Ex: The car accident resulted in the death of a victim. The driver was found guilty of homicide by the court. Ex: The court ruled that the crime was first-degree murder and not homicide.

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