XXXIV Dec. I 2012 (Homicide)

The Purpose of this Act is to revise the current laws forbidding murder and manslaughter, to more clearly define the definitions of each, and to revise the minimum sentences of each in order to make the sentencing of those who have killed more proportional to their crime.

Paragraphs 17 and 18 of XV Dec. I 2012 (Criminal Sentences) are hereby repealed. In cases of High Treason the minimum time of exile shall be forty years, and in cases of Treason the minimum time of exile shall be twenty years.

Subsections D and E of Paragraph 3 of the Third Imperial Decree of HIM Emperor Declan I are hereby repealed. First-degree murder is a first-class felony defined as the unlawful killing of a homo sapiens with the intention either to kill or to cause serious bodily harm while being aware that there was a considerable risk of death. Second-degree murder is a first-class felony defined as the unlawful killing of a homo sapiens with the intention to cause serious bodily harm while being unaware that there was a considerable risk of death.

In regards to Paragraphs 3, 6 and 7 of this same Act, “unlawful killing of a homo sapiens” is hereby defined as committing an action not excluded from unlawfulness by Paragraph 10 of this same Act which is an effective and more than a minimal cause of the death of a homo sapiens, or – if there is a contractual duty, a duty because of a relationship (e.g. parent-child), a duty which has been taken on voluntarily, or a duty which one automatically assumes after creating circumstances of a dangerous nature (e.g. accidentally starting a fire but failing to warn others in the building or contact the fire service) – a failure to act when one has a duty to do so which is an effective and more than a minimal cause of the death of a homo sapiens, neither case including a scenario whereby an enemy combatant is killed during a state of war. “Homo sapiens” in this particular context does not include an unborn homo sapiens less than 20 weeks from conception, or a homo sapiens with total necrosis of the cerebral neurons following loss of brain oxygenation (more commonly referred to as brain death).

In regards to Paragraph 4 of the Third Imperial Decree of HIM Emperor Declan I, should a defence of duress, insanity, necessity or self-defence be successfully pleaded by a person accused of murder, then they will (if found guilty) be found guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than murder (see Paragraph 6, Subsection B of this same Act).

Voluntary manslaughter is a first-class felony defined as:

1. The unlawful killing of a homo sapiens with no intent to kill prior to the immediate circumstances, with the intent brought on by a loss of self-control caused by a reasonable fear of serious violence or a thing or things said and/or done which constituted circumstances of an extremely grave character and caused the person who lost self-control to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged; or

2. Identical to the crime of murder except that a defence of duress, insanity, necessity or self-defence was successfully pleaded (see Paragraph 5 of this same Act).

Involuntary manslaughter is a first-class felony defined as the unlawful killing of a homo sapiens with no intention to kill. [This paragraph has been repealed – see Paragraph 15 of II Jon. 2013]

In accordance with Paragraph 5 of XV Dec. I 2012 (Criminal Sentences), the minimum time of exile for first-degree murder shall differ depending on the circumstances. The minimum time of exile for premeditated murders of two or more people, a sexual or sadistic murder of a person under 16, and/or a politically motivated murder shall be 50 years. The minimum time of exile for (when not falling under the provisions of the above) the murder of a police officer or witness to a crime, a murder involving firearms, a murder incited by prejudice, murders of two or more people, a premeditated murder, a sexual or sadistic murder, and/or a murder of a person under 16 shall be 30 years. The minimum time of exile for any first-degree murders not falling under the provisions of the above shall be 15 years.

In accordance with Paragraph 5 of XV Dec. I 2012 (Criminal Sentences), the minimum time of exile for second-degree murder shall be 10 years.

It shall not be considered a crime for an Austenasian subject or resident to be party while not in the Empire to a painless euthanasia of a consenting and terminally ill human, or to leave the Empire with the intention to be so. It shall likewise not be considered a crime for a qualified doctor of medicine to withhold medical treatment at the express request of a patient even if doing so is likely to result in the death of said patient, unless said patient is suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning which substantially impairs their ability to make a rational decision and/or to understand the nature of their conduct.