What is the difference between homicide and murder?

The difference between homicide and murder lies in the presence of aggravating circumstances. Both crimes involve the intentional killing of a person, but murder is considered more serious because it is committed with premeditation, cruelty, for the promise or reward of a crime, or with the aim of facilitating or concealing another crime. The presence of just one of these circumstances is enough for a homicide to be classified as murder.

What is homicide?

Homicide is the act of intentionally taking another person’s life, but without any particularly cruel, planned, or aggravating circumstances . It is the basic type of crime against life and is regulated in Article 138 of the Penal Code . Its punishment carries a prison sentence of 10 to 15 years . A common example would be a fight that ends fatally, without premeditation or cruelty.

What is murder?

Murder also involves causing a person’s death, but it differs from homicide due to the presence of aggravating circumstances that increase the severity of the crime . These factors include treachery , which involves attacking without giving the victim a chance to defend themselves; cruelty , when physical or psychological suffering is deliberately increased; payment or reward , that is, killing for financial gain; or the intention to facilitate or conceal another crime , such as eliminating a witness.

Murder is defined in Article 139 of the Penal Code and carries penalties of 15 to 25 years in prison , which can become life imprisonment subject to review if there is any particularly aggravating circumstance, such as the victim being a minor, there being more than one victim or a previous sexual offense having been committed.

When does homicide become murder?

Homicide becomes murder when at least one aggravating circumstance, as defined in Article 139 of the Penal Code, is present . It is not necessary for several aggravating circumstances to be present; a single one is sufficient for the crime to be considered aggravated. For example, if the victim is unable to defend themselves and the perpetrator acts with premeditation, the act is no longer homicide, but murder.

What aggravating factors can increase the penalty?

In addition to the elements that transform homicide into murder, there are additional aggravating circumstances that further increase the penalty:

• That the victim is under 16 years of age or a person especially vulnerable due to age, illness or disability.
• That the murder is related to a previous sexual offense committed by the perpetrator.
• That the crime was perpetrated by members of a criminal group or organization .
• That the author causes the death of more than one person .

In these cases, murder can be punished with life imprisonment subject to review , the most severe penalty in the Spanish legal system.

Homicide and murder are two crimes that share the same outcome: the death of one person caused by another. But they are not the same . The key to differentiating them lies in the presence of aggravating factors such as treachery, cruelty, or profit motive. These circumstances transform homicide into murder, which carries much harsher penalties.

If you are accused of one of these crimes or require legal counsel to pursue charges for one of these offenses, it is essential to have a specialized lawyer. At Nieto Enríquez Criminal Lawyers , criminal lawyers in Barcelona and Madrid , we offer a solid, expert, and personalized defense in crimes against life.