Homicide is defined as the taking of a person's life by another human being. There are five different types of homicide that have similarities and differences from each other that I am going to explain. There are many circumstances in determining what kind of homicide has occurred. Some of those circumstances include whether the crime was intentional, the age of the offender, the motive of the offender and the emotions that the offender is experiencing before the act was committed.
             According to the Bureau of Justice, the homicide rate doubled from the mid 1980's to the late 1990's. In the 1980's, the homicide rate reached its highest rate at 10.2 per 100,000, and decreased to 7.9 per 100,000 in 1985. In the late 1980's and the early 1990's, the homicide rate increased to 9.8 per 100,000. Ever since, the rate has noticeably declined, down to 5.5 per 100,000 by the year 2000.
             As a result of writing this paper I will define, differentiate and explain the types of homicide, how the homicide is committed, and the consequences of committing the homicide, and give examples and court cases involving the homicide. The reader will gain valuable information about these crimes and their penalties that can be helpful in the future or in a career.
             The first type of homicide is involuntary manslaughter. Involuntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another human being, during a commission of an unlawful act committed illegally or with gross negligence, without malice or intent. Malice is "ill will," an intention to cause injury on another person. An example of involuntary manslaughter would be; if someone consumed enough alcohol to impair their driving abilities and tried to drive their car home, hitting somebody while they were crossing the
             street and killing that person. Involuntary manslaughter is a class 5 felony. Donald Tucker of Rowan County, MD was convicted of involuntary mansl...