Murder by negligence: criminal liability and penalties

What can make a person a murderer? War? Hatred? Self-interest? Or a terrible coincidence? In judicial practice, cases of careless death are often encountered. It is murder by negligence that will be the topic of our conversation.

Negligent homicide can be causing death due to simple human errors. For example, if a person did not realize the deadly consequences of his actions. Often such situations arise in the company of minor teenagers. But let's talk about everything in order.

What is negligent homicide?

Murder is, first of all, causing the death of another person, which is punishable by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

So, how does negligent homicide happen? The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following actions by those guilty:

1. A person's inaction that results in the death of another person.

For example, in our country, representatives of certain professions (doctors and law enforcement officers) are required to perform duties constantly, even outside of working hours. Inaction during emergency situations that resulted in the death of a person will be punished under the Criminal Code.

1. An unintentional act that causes the death of another person.

In other words, any unintentional actions of a person, the consequences of which were the death of a person:

1. Criminal negligence - In this case, it is important that the culprit fails to predict the consequences, although he should have, thereby unintentionally “killing” another person.
2. Criminal frivolity - Either he foresaw and even realized the likelihood of a fatal outcome, but decided that he would be able to avoid it.

Murder by negligence differs from ordinary murder in the absence of a conscious desire of the perpetrator to kill a person.

That is, the culprit could even imagine the possibility of a fatal outcome, but did not want it, tried to avoid it. In addition, he did not set himself the goal of allowing the death of another person for personal gain.

However, the court in any case will regard the defendant’s behavior as dangerous to the lives of others and society as a whole. And the perpetrator will face criminal penalties and a criminal record. True, the punishment will be mitigated.

Signs of intent to commit murder or lack thereof

The commission of a deliberate act is always indicated by the motive for committing a crime that resulted in death.

The main difference between manslaughter and murder is the lack of motive of the offender and the commission of actions aimed at causing death.

We are obviously dealing with murder if the criminal has:

• A relationship with the deceased that involves conflicting personal or professional interests.
• The interest of one person in the death of another (here we can consider the presence of direct or indirect intent).
• Proven actions aimed at taking the life of another person.

The definition of manslaughter is characterized by:

• Lack of any interest in the death of the victim.
• The presence of a situation of self-defense or passion.
• There is criminal negligence, neglect of one’s duties against the background of the character traits or habits of both the deceased and the suspect in his death.
• The presence of a mental illness in the person who caused death through negligence (if he was not aware of his actions).

Basic provisions of the Criminal Code on murder by negligence

Murder by negligence is described in Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to its provisions, there are three types of murder by negligence:

1. Homicides related to negligence in the performance of official duties;
2. Murders committed in the performance of official duties, not associated with negligence and mercenary motives;
3. Killing two or more people.

In addition, in order to qualify the death of a person as homicide by negligence, the following circumstances must be met:

• Lack of intention and desire to kill a person;
• The guilty person did not suspect (did not guess) that the actions he was performing were leading to the death of another person;
• The moment of commission of the crime is the death of the victim;
• The presence of a clear cause-and-effect relationship, i.e. the death occurred due to the action or inaction of the accused person;
• No violations of established rules (fire safety, work at a dangerous or explosive facility). If they are present, the murder will not be considered careless, but will be transferred to another classification;
• The guilty person has reached the age of sixteen.

The main criterion for qualifying murder by negligence is the lack of desire on the part of the perpetrator to kill a person.

Decoding the concept

The very concept of murder should not be considered in terms of “intentionality” or “unintentionality.” It already contains the factor of guilt, since “murder” implies a deliberate action aimed at achieving the result - the death of the victim.

For a crime to be considered manslaughter, the following circumstances must be present:

1. Lack of motive;
2. The killer did not want such consequences to occur;
3. Absence of intent to commit murder;
4. Having strong remorse.

An act takes on the meaning of “unintentional” when it happened without the will and intention of the person involved. Positioning the person whose fault it happened as a murderer is incorrect. And in the legislation of the Russian Federation there is a term for it “causing death by negligence.” This concept unites similar crimes in Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation precisely on the basis of the absence of a direct plan and the attempted murder of one person by another.

Composition of the crime “murder by negligence”

In order to bring the perpetrator to criminal punishment, the prosecution must prove in court the presence of the full corpus delicti. It includes:

1. The object of the crime is the life of the victim;
2. Objective side: murder by negligence as a result of the action or inaction of the guilty person;
3. The subject of the crime is a person who has reached the age of 16;
4. The subjective side is negligence, frivolity or professional negligence that caused the death of a person: Violation of safety rules at work;
5. Violation of job descriptions;
6. Inaction in emergency situations;
7. Negligence in performing official duties, frivolity.

The moment of commission of a crime is considered to be the death of the victim, from that moment it is considered committed, and the perpetrator is subject to criminal punishment.

If the perpetrator simply could not foresee the deadly consequences of his actions, then the murder is considered accidental and is not subject to criminal prosecution.

Signs of a crime

To reclassify a murder under the appropriate article, it is necessary to confirm the connection between cause and effect - how the absence of malicious intent led to murder without intent. Responsibility for it, imposed in the form of a sentence, directly depends on the motive, and not so much on the consequence - the death of the victim.

Murder without premeditation has certain characteristics. To receive a so-called lenient sentence, the offender must prove that he did not intend to take the victim’s life.

Each case is considered individually: a murder during a joint hunt, a gas or electric appliance in the house is faulty, which led to the death of one or more people. Such cases also include death as a result of a fire safety violation or failure to fulfill one’s direct duties.

An important nuance for imprisonment due to murder without premeditation is that the criminal himself, before the incident, did not imagine that his actions would lead to the death of the victim. If the motive was discovered during the trial, the case will automatically be reclassified under another article of the Russian Criminal Code.

According to independent research, this type of crime in Russia in most cases occurs in everyday life or in case of violation of simple safety rules in the home or in any organization.

Who is more likely to be guilty of death by negligence?

Unfortunately, any person who had the opportunity to save another from death, for example, without performing certain actions, but did not do so, can fall under Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

However, we will list the main categories of persons who may become defendants under this article (data from judicial practice in Russia over the past 15 years were taken as a basis):

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1. Persons with certain diseases: Mental disorders;
2. Alcohol and drug addictions;
3. Dementia;
4. Psychopathy;
5. Brain diseases.

Often, murder by negligence can occur in ordinary everyday (home) conditions. For example, when installing gas equipment incorrectly or installing uncertified household appliances and electrical equipment. Situations also often arise with a doctor’s refusal to provide medical services or, conversely, the provision of unnecessary services, careless handling of weapons while performing official duty or during hunting or exercises.

Criminal penalties for negligent homicide

We mentioned just above that murder by negligence differs from intentional murder, and therefore its commission carries a slightly more lenient punishment. Moreover, this principle has been in effect in all modern countries since ancient times.

Punishments for murder by negligence are specified in Article 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They are noticeably softer than sanctions for killing a person (Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). So, possible punishments:

1. In the first option of murder by negligence (see the paragraph on the main provisions of the Criminal Code on murder by negligence): Correctional labor for up to two years;
2. Forced labor for the same period;
3. Restriction of freedom for up to two years;
4. Imprisonment for up to two years;

In the latter case, at the discretion of the court, there may be a complete deprivation of the right to continue professional activity or a ban on it for a certain time (up to 4 years). Most often, the court chooses a punishment in the form of restriction of freedom or a suspended sentence, depending on the circumstances of the case.

How many years do you get for manslaughter during a fight?

There are various situations in life in which a person’s death often occurs during skirmishes. For example, a group of young people were sitting at a bar and drinking alcohol. Then one young man from the company did not like that some unfamiliar guy asked his girlfriend to dance. He got up from the table, walked up to the stranger and knocked him to the floor with a blow to the face.

While falling, the man hit his head hard on the table, resulting in a brain hemorrhage. The man died on the spot from his injuries.

The culprit was brought to justice under Part 1 of Art. 109 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and was sentenced to 2 years in prison. However, this is not the maximum period. The longest sentence for manslaughter is 4 years - if two or more people died during a fight.

To determine the penalty for manslaughter, the judge takes into account the following circumstances:

• Who is the suspect (has he been previously convicted or not)?
• What were his reasons that prompted him to commit the crime?
• Is the suspect an adult or not?
• Were there any aggravating or mitigating factors?

Accidental death and homicide by negligence: main differences

In the Criminal Code you can also find the concept of “accidental causing of death”. If murder is classified under this article, criminal liability does not arise, and the perpetrator is released.

The criteria for assessing murder as an accidental death are as follows:

1. If the perpetrator imagined deadly consequences for another person, but: Did not want death;
2. I tried to take all measures to prevent the sad outcome;
3. But in the end, death occurred for a reason that was initially independent of him.

Thus, we see that the main difference between accidental killing and negligent homicide is the perpetrator's understanding of the deadly consequences, as well as the power he has over the situation. In the case of negligent homicide, the perpetrator either could have saved the person but became inactive, or committed an act whose consequences became fatal for another.

“Medical error”: is there a risk of criminal liability?

About a third of negligent homicide trials result from the death of a patient due to physician error or medical negligence.

So, what is a medical error?

“Medical error” is an error, an incorrect action taken by a doctor in the performance of official duties (treating a patient).

An error can occur due to negligence in the performance of work, negligence or illiteracy of the doctor.

The main signs of a medical error:

1. Conscientious error of the doctor: Incorrect diagnosis (diagnostic error);
2. Incorrect treatment of the patient (carrying out operations, prescribing medications that the patient cannot tolerate).

In any case, a medical error, if it leads to the death of the patient, threatens the perpetrator with criminal punishment and deprivation of the right to continue medical practice for up to three years.