Which is worse: premeditated murder or a crime of passion?

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   Jeff Berndtposted 13 years ago

   So we punish premeditated murder, or first degree murder) more harshly than we do unpremeditated murder (or second degree murder). The idea, I guess, is that someone who would deliberately kill another person, make a plan, and carry out the crime even though he realizes that it's against the law is somehow more dangerous than the guy who loses his temper and kills someone in the heat of the moment.
   
   What do you think? Is the guy who deliberately plans to kill a person more dangerous than the guy who loses it and kills someone? Or is the guy who can't control his own actions when he's angry more dangerous than the guy who deliberately takes a life?
   
   Why do you think so?
   
   (I put this in the philosophy section to underline that I'm not trying to make an argument for or against capital punishment or the goodness or badness of our legal system; I just want to talk about what's worse: plotting to kill a specific person or losing one's temper and killing someone 'cos you're mad?)

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      Brenda Durhamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Obviously, your first sentence explains it all.  There's a reason our laws are what they are.  Intent, especially deliberate, planned, action is more hostile in the long run.
      
      Sometimes the actions of others make a situation so that the person doesn't have time to ponder on what to do or what should be done, like paradigmsearch pointed out.  In a case like that, who's the actual victim?----the husband who finds his wife in bed with someone else!

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      PhoenixVposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      In the wild, if you are careful where you tread and don't poke a stick at a deadly snake, it will leave you alone. If you provoke it- it will bite you.
      
      On the other hand...
      
      In the wild, it doesn't matter how careful you are or how lightly you tread, if there's a lion or a shark out there, they are going to hunt you.
      
      The predator is the most dangerous.
      
      Same as the premeditated murderer.

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      hujahangirposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      yes premeditated murder is more dangerous than passion murder. A guy who has premeditated for murder bears the guilty mind that is the prime requirement for criminal offense. passion murder is culpable homicide while premeditated murder is absolutely a murder and it is more punishable than murder.

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   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   Yep - it don't matter to the victim.

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   paradigmsearchposted 13 years ago

   Walking in on some guy doing your wife is indeed considered a mitigating circumstance; especially in Texas.

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   I don't think it makes an iota of difference to the dead person, does it?

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   Cagsilposted 13 years ago

   Neither are going to produce good results, but one who plans is more dangerous than the one who simply loses control of their temper.
   
   Granted, losing control of your temper enough, a fit of rage, beyond all comprehension of reason, isn't good especially if it takes someone's life, but it's done with much thought versus one who carefully plans out every detail to take someone's life.

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   Brenda Durhamposted 13 years ago

   Carp!  I agree with Cagsil again! 

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      

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   Jeff Berndtposted 13 years ago

   Does the moment matter? I mean, the guy who walks in on his wife in bed with another man is probably not going to be in that situation again (since he killed both of them, right?) But what about the guy who kills someone in some other "crime of passion" situation?

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   Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

   So what are we saying?
   When it comes to killing someone, passion (emotion) is ok but thinking (premeditation) is bad?
   
   If I carry a gun around with me and some guy road rages on me and I shoot him -- is that a crime of passion?

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Road Rage? Isn't a crime of passion. It's stupidity gone awry.

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         paradigmsearchposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         That guy that cut me off on the Freeway last week had it coming. Besides, 7 years isn’t that long...

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            Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            More than 5 minutes is too long.

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   knolyourselfposted 13 years ago

   "If I carry a gun around with me and some guy road rages on me and I shoot him -- is that a crime of passion?" Good one. That would seem to consolidate the two. Premeditated in the sense that there must be some premeditated intention, in certain circumstance, and using it as an act of passion.

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    Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

    Of course those so-called crimes of passion are much easier to wiggle out of with the insanity defense.
    Hard to use that to explain why you took a contract out on your business partner (even if he did sleep with your wife )

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       Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       

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    Mighty Momposted 13 years ago

    Ah. But if you shot him BEFORE he cut you off you'd be looking at 25-life

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    Andrew Gubbposted 13 years ago

    well, i'm not sure which is "worse" but if you premeditate your murder you have time to think about the law and so on. So the whole deterrent thing can come into play. Whereas deterrents will never work much on people who lose their heads, so there's almost no point in punishing them.
    
    If the law is supposed to be about deterring and not plain old vengeance, that is. If the law is about vegeance, then carry on...

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    dingdondingdonposted 13 years ago

    Obviously they're both very serious crimes and should be punished, but I feel premeditated murder is worse. If you're the kind of person who can carefully calculate the details of how you're going to end someone's life, you're barely human. It's frightening.

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    Setharealposted 13 years ago

    I think it has to do with the likelihood of if it will be a repeat occurrence. Someone who plans a murder for whatever reason seems like they may do it again, especially if they go unpunished, whereas someone who loses control in a moment probably had very specific circumstances that drove them to murder (i.e. finding your wife in bed with another man).
    
    It makes little sense though, I mean in English we only have a few words like 'kill' 'murder' 'slay', I remember studying Ancient Greek in college and I believe there were something like 9 words each with different sets of connotation and meaning. Society slaughters the innocent wholesale for the most trivial of reasons, such as deaths related to 'driving cars' are about the same as deaths related to 'gun violence' in America yet there are no lobby groups to outlaw cars, we write those deaths off not as murders but, 'accidents'.
    
    What is the old saying? Kill a man and they call you a murderer, kill thousands and they call you a king, kill millions and they call you God.

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    cheaptrickposted 13 years ago

    Premeditation indicates clear headed focus[emotions under control].Crimes of passion[emotional lose of control]is a clear indication of emotional immaturity[the child within takes control]so to consider them equal would not be fair....and then there's what the shrinks call"The invited slap"which brings us to a whole other level.If you push the right buttons...you can get a person to do anything.So who is the victim in that case...?

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