Monday, January 26, 2009

Assassination vs. Murder

I have been wondering for a while what's the difference between Assassination and murder
Usually you hear assassination associated with politiacal leaders and things like that but sometimes i hear it about random people to so what's the difference?

Murder according to the dictionary: to kill (a human being) unlawfully and with premeditated malice

Assassination according to the dictionary: to injure or destroy unexpectedly and treacherously; to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons

Oxford English Dictionary says assassination is:
The action of assassinating; the taking the life of any one by treacherous violence, esp. by a hired emissary, or one who has taken upon him to execute the deed

So Assassination is murder but of someone usually in a public position but it can also be when someone is hired to kill someone else

basically that's it!

1 comment:

  1. To clarify, murder requires intent not premeditation. Premeditated vs non-premeditated murder is the distinction between 1st degree and 2nd degree. If a person kills another human being without intent, (eg carelessness or with "disregard for human life") then it is manslaughter and again 1st degree vs 2nd degree distinguishes whether there was intent.

    Keep in mind, however that murder is a state crime in most situations and the definition vary from state to state.

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