In judicial practice, a lot of murder cases have accumulated, when it seems that one person is assigned 6 for the same crime and 15 or 20 years of imprisonment for the other. On the one hand, this is unfair. However, it is worth saying that the methods of deprivation of life are completely different, and judges must take into account any nuances associated with this crime.
Aggravating circumstances
In Russian legislation for murder (Article 105 of the Criminal Code RF) the sentence is from 6 to 15 years in prison. In addition to the usual deprivation of life, the code considers the following methods of murder (aggravating circumstances):
- In relation to two or more persons.
- When the victim is obviously pregnant (i.e., the offender knew about it when he committed this act).
- The killing of minor children or citizens who are obviously helpless.
- Deprivation of human life in connection with the performance of official duties.
- From blood feud.
- Murder in order to conceal another illegal act (robbery, another murder, etc.).
- Deprivation of life based on selfish goals, including those associated with hooliganism, robbery, or banditry.
- From political, racial and other prejudices (for example, the killing of "infidels").
- Perfect with particular cruelty (torture, intravital dismemberment, etc.).
All these circumstances are contained in Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder).
Actions for the already deceased
In addition to the above methods and directions, there are also acts that are not directly considered as murder. For example, the dismemberment of a corpse after a person is deprived of life is qualified as abuse of the body of the deceased.
This malicious act is a disposition, which contains 244 criminal article. In this case, the killing of a person can be committed by a person who mocks the body or dismembers it, or it is the result of the actions of another attacker.
Deprivation of life in a state of passion
There is a separate article 107 in the Criminal Code for murder in a state of great emotional unrest. The legislator singles out this crime separately for the reason that under such circumstances a person does not realize his actions.
Affect can occur for various reasons, including if the victim verbally abused the attacker, caused physical pain or threatened to kill.
Reckless killing
Incidentally, deprivation of life can also be included in the category of committing a crime without intent. In practice, there is an example when construction workers rolled a pipe from the roof. A man walked along the sidewalk and was killed by this building material.
In this case 109 article for negligent homicide provides punishment up to 3 years in prison.
The act described in the example is considered as deprivation of life due to improper performance of professional duties.
Excess Self Defense
The most controversial regarding qualifications is killing due to hypertrophic perceptions of reality. In this sense, one can consider such acts when self-defense methods clearly did not correspond to the level of danger that threatened a person.
If it is not proved that defense in this form was necessary, then a crime can be qualified as murder (article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The term is assigned based on the disposition of the specified provisions of the code, and not under the 108th article.
Suicide
It can also be considered very difficult to prove from a moral point of view and bring the deceased to such a state that he decides to take his own life.In the investigation of this category of cases, the direct killing of the victim with a pretense of suicide is not excluded.
Be sure to carefully investigate the circumstances of a person’s death, as well as his relationship with others, if there are suspicions of bringing him to a final state intentionally.
In the event that the guilty person “helped” a person to lose his life (he pushed him from the roof, knocked out a chair from under his feet, etc.), and at the same time wished for the occurrence of these events, we can say that he committed the murder. What article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation can be applied here:
- article 110 (suicide);
- directly 105 article (murder);
- Section 125 (abandonment in danger).
In the case of the latter provision, not only failure to provide assistance is considered, but also the deliberate creation of a life-threatening situation.
Acts committed against the lives of children
Despite the fact that Section 105 (murder) has already been penalized for the deprivation of life of minors, there is a separate provision for newborn children.
In addition to the age of the deceased child, the disposition of article 106 states that the killer should be the mother of the baby. Only under these conditions, qualification will occur in this position, and the punishment will be up to 5 years in a correctional institution.
Conditional or real term
When assigning punishment for any crime, including murder, special circumstances are considered that influenced the behavior of the guilty person. Some of them are indicated above. However, there are factors in which the judge imposes a conditional sentence for the deprivation of life of another person.
The court takes into account the defendant’s repentance and full admission of guilt if there is any article for the murder other than the 105th.
However, there is an example from judicial practice when for the murder of an elderly person (beaten to death) the guilty migrant from the Middle East was given 8 months probation and a fine of 150,000 rubles was imposed.
As a rule, persons who have committed crimes for the first time from the category of against life, while not wanting the onset of fatal consequences, can receive a suspended sentence.
In the case when the crime was committed by a person convicted earlier, it is practically impossible to avoid real punishment. Here, the crime is regarded as a relapse, which in itself suggests that even if there was a suspended sentence before that, the convict did not improve, did not consider his situation and went on to commit a grave deed a second time.
Qualification
Any murder should be qualified according to the most appropriate article, taking into account all circumstances, therefore, the judges face a difficult task. On the one hand, do not allow too soft punishment, protecting the interests of the victims, on the other - the decision must comply with all principles of justice and with respect to the guilty.
From a moral point of view, when a potential killer is faced, it is difficult to maintain neutrality. However, as was said earlier, given the circumstances of the incident, especially if the perpetrator could not have acted otherwise, a suspended sentence is sometimes appointed.
However, this does not apply to murders that are committed with particular cruelty, organized by groups or simply several persons in conspiracy, as well as by citizens using their official position or for political and racial reasons.
In itself, murder (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) with aggravating circumstances does not imply suddenness, therefore, the perpetrators should be sentenced to longer than those who killed a person, not wanting the onset of such consequences.
Items
In most cases, the murder is committed using any device. Very often the instruments of crime of this kind are:
- edged weapons of any kind;
- heavy objects;
- firearms;
- objects intended for sports or for self-defense - signal pistols, rifles, traumatic and gas pistols.
In the event that the citizen who is charged with the article for murder does not have permission to store and carry weapons (cold or firearms), there is another crime provided for in article 222 - illegal possession of weapons. In this case, the punishment is imposed on the totality of crimes.
Killings arranged and prepared as an accident do not have a direct instrument of crime. However, there are objects through which the killer realized his intentions. For example, the simplest case of a car accident, when a victim in a car had brake hoses cut. Accordingly, the perpetrator prepared and implemented plans for the deceased by causing a mechanical malfunction, wishing for the onset of adverse effects.
Methods
In addition, there are more than 20 ways to commit a crime, which is provided for in paragraph 1, article 105 (murder). Terms in this case, as a rule, do not go beyond the limits established by this clause, unless aggravating circumstances appear in the case. The main ways:
- asphyxiation (guns - dense material, rope, pillow, scarf, etc.);
- hanging (rope, belt, etc.);
- drowning (in a pond, in the bathroom, as well as in other places);
- a collision (from the roof, from a window, from a moving vehicle, from a bridge, etc.);
- poisoning (poisons of plant or animal origin, as well as chemicals, including forced overdose of drugs or drugs);
- killing with the help of an animal (for example, the perpetrator set a dog on the victim, and the dog bit him to death);
- arson of the victim (with the help of combustible substances, by arson of the premises, etc.);
- killing by hitting a deceased using various vehicles (including the use of heavy road equipment, such as an ice rink);
- re-enactment of an accident at the factory, where complex machines are located, as well as other methods.
The timing
For all of the above types of killings, the legislator provided for various periods of imprisonment. Since the lower limits of punishments are not indicated, it is possible to note the number of years that is the maximum permissible for sentencing in the first paragraphs of the examined articles, without aggravating circumstances.
For the commission of a crime, which provides for Article 105 (murder), the term may not be less than 6 years, although there are annoying exceptions. Provisions 106, 108 and 109 stipulate that the real term in a correctional institution can be up to two years. However, there is no lower limit here, so the perpetrators will sometimes receive a suspended sentence. Murder in a state of passion (Article 107) will result in a criminal term of imprisonment of up to 3 years, and under Article 110 the defendant will have to spend in prison for up to 5 years.
The only article according to which a crime was committed that was not directly related to the deprivation of life is the 244th. Abuse of a corpse involves a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles and, in extreme cases, an arrest of up to 3 months.
As can be seen in the last mentioned provision, if the guilty abused the body of the deceased, and someone else took the victim’s life, this will not be considered a serious crime, such as murder (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
The most severe punishment is provided for the deprivation of life in the presence of aggravating circumstances discussed above (20 years in prison life imprisonment or execution).
Suicide bombers
In Russia, unlike other countries, even for the most brutal murder of criminals do not take their lives. It is believed that any guilty party should have a chance to improve. This position is associated with the provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, where human life is considered as the highest value. However, despite this, the offender nevertheless neglected the basic law of the country and took the life of not one but several people, together with aggravating circumstances.What then happens? Usually the guilty person spends the rest of his life behind bars.
Many convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment can be released early if they spent at least 25 years in the colony and are positively characterized by the administration of the correctional institution. In the event that the released person needs any treatment, psychiatric or therapeutic, the state is obliged to forcibly send him to the appropriate institution.
Some convicts, distinguished by good behavior and submitted to parole, willfully commit a serious crime while in prison. This is most often due to the fact that a person realizes his inability to socialize in society and takes this step to stay in prison.
Proof of guilt
In the investigation of crimes related to the deprivation of life, and the nomination of investigative versions, the article for the murder is the main one. As operational actions are taken, qualifications may vary depending on the circumstances. In this case, the burden of proving the guilt of the suspect lies with law enforcement agencies (and then the prosecutor), since the most important axiom is that no one can be considered guilty of an offense until the contrary is proved.
In reality, despite this constitutional norm, a persistent hostility to the suspect in a murder or other act arises both on the part of the investigation and on the part of relatives and friends.
