미국형법상 살인죄의 유형과 그 내용

This article deals with ‘Homicide’ in the American Criminal Law in order to understand it’s content and theory as well as cases, so that we can contemplate our legislative style and try to revise it. ‘Homicide’ in the American Common Law’s Homicide divides into ‘murder’ and ‘manslaughter’. ‘Murder’ means killing a person with malice aforethought, and ‘manslaughter’ means killing a person without malice aforethought. Meanwhile, Model Penal Code provides that a person is guilty of criminal homicide if she takes the life of another human being purposely, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently. But unlike the common law, MPC divides criminal homicide murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide. Generally, murder is divided into first-degree murder, which consists of 1) premeditated, deliberate intent to kill murders, and felony murders, and second-degree murder which aren’t first-degree murders. And manslaughter consists of voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter means suddenly and intentionally killing another person in the heat of anger following adequate provocation, and involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing by a voluntary act or omission.