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Murder

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Classification of murder

  • 231 (1) Murder is first degree murder or second degree murder.

  • Marginal note:Planned and deliberate murder

    (2) Murder is first degree murder when it is planned and deliberate.

  • Marginal note:Contracted murder

    (3) Without limiting the generality of subsection (2), murder is planned and deliberate when it is committed pursuant to an arrangement under which money or anything of value passes or is intended to pass from one person to another, or is promised by one person to another, as consideration for that other’s causing or assisting in causing the death of anyone or counselling another person to do any act causing or assisting in causing that death.

  • Marginal note:Murder of peace officer, etc.

    (4) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of any person, murder is first degree murder when the victim is

    • (a) a police officer, police constable, constable, sheriff, deputy sheriff, sheriff’s officer or other person employed for the preservation and maintenance of the public peace, acting in the course of his duties;

    • (b) a warden, deputy warden, instructor, keeper, jailer, guard or other officer or a permanent employee of a prison, acting in the course of his duties; or

    • (c) a person working in a prison with the permission of the prison authorities and acting in the course of his work therein.

  • Marginal note:Hijacking, sexual assault or kidnapping

    (5) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of any person, murder is first degree murder in respect of a person when the death is caused by that person while committing or attempting to commit an offence under one of the following sections:

    • (a) section 76 (hijacking an aircraft);

    • (b) section 271 (sexual assault);

    • (c) section 272 (sexual assault with a weapon, threats to a third party or causing bodily harm);

    • (d) section 273 (aggravated sexual assault);

    • (e) section 279 (kidnapping and forcible confinement); or

    • (f) section 279.1 (hostage taking).

  • Marginal note:Criminal harassment

    (6) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of any person, murder is first degree murder when the death is caused by that person while committing or attempting to commit an offence under section 264 and the person committing that offence intended to cause the person murdered to fear for the safety of the person murdered or the safety of anyone known to the person murdered.

  • Marginal note:Murder — terrorist activity

    (6.01) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of a person, murder is first degree murder when the death is caused by that person while committing or attempting to commit an indictable offence under this or any other Act of Parliament if the act or omission constituting the offence also constitutes a terrorist activity.

  • Marginal note:Murder — criminal organization

    (6.1) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of a person, murder is first degree murder when

    • (a) the death is caused by that person for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization; or

    • (b) the death is caused by that person while committing or attempting to commit an indictable offence under this or any other Act of Parliament for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization.

  • Marginal note:Intimidation

    (6.2) Irrespective of whether a murder is planned and deliberate on the part of a person, murder is first degree murder when the death is caused by that person while committing or attempting to commit an offence under section 423.1.

  • Marginal note:Second degree murder

    (7) All murder that is not first degree murder is second degree murder.

Murder reduced to manslaughter

  • 232 (1) Culpable homicide that otherwise would be murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the person who committed it did so in the heat of passion caused by sudden provocation.

  • Marginal note:What is provocation

    (2) Conduct of the victim that would constitute an indictable offence under this Act that is punishable by five or more years of imprisonment and that is of such a nature as to be sufficient to deprive an ordinary person of the power of self-control is provocation for the purposes of this section, if the accused acted on it on the sudden and before there was time for their passion to cool.

  • Marginal note:Questions of fact

    (3) For the purposes of this section, the questions

    • (a) whether the conduct of the victim amounted to provocation under subsection (2), and

    • (b) whether the accused was deprived of the power of self-control by the provocation that he alleges he received,

    are questions of fact, but no one shall be deemed to have given provocation to another by doing anything that he had a legal right to do, or by doing anything that the accused incited him to do in order to provide the accused with an excuse for causing death or bodily harm to any human being.

  • Marginal note:Death during illegal arrest

    (4) Culpable homicide that otherwise would be murder is not necessarily manslaughter by reason only that it was committed by a person who was being arrested illegally, but the fact that the illegality of the arrest was known to the accused may be evidence of provocation for the purpose of this section.

The intentional killing of another person is called murder. In Canada, there are various classifications for homicide, or murder law: manslaughter, infanticide, second degree murder, and first degree murder. These charges differ in that the accused must provide evidence of their purpose.

A murder that is both premeditated and intentional is referred to as first degree murder. If it was planned, it was conceptualized and carefully considered before being executed. If it was intentional, the action was thoughtful and not rash.

An unplanned and inadvertent murder may also be grounds for a first degree murder charge under a number of conditions. It is always first degree murder when a police officer or prison guard is killed. According to Canadian murder law, first degree murder also includes murders that occur while committing other specific crimes like terrorism, hijacking, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, forced confinement, hostage taking, intimidation, or any crime carried out on behalf of a criminal organization.

Any homicide that can be demonstrated to have been committed with the intent to kill the victim or to cause bodily harm that the accused knew was likely to result in death is considered second degree murder.

Any illegal killing that does not have the aim to show murder is manslaughter. Manslaughter law is characterized by the performance of an illegal act that results in the victim's death. Simple acts like assault, which involves using force on someone without their consent and causing their death, can be considered illegal. The man was pushed, lost his balance, and died after falling down a flight of stairs in a textbook case.

 

An accused person charged with murder may also legally plead manslaughter if, as a result of their intoxication, they may not have intended to kill or cause bodily damage that is likely to result in death. Since purpose is a key distinction between manslaughter and murder, a murder charge may also be dropped in cases where the accused can demonstrate provocation or in which the prosecution is unable to demonstrate the first or second degree of intent to commit murder.

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