Vocabulary pt.2 : nouns of crimes and U.S murder classification

U.S. -Italian legal vocabulary, pt.2

Nouns of crimes and U.S. murder classification.

As promised, we continue to improve our (your) legalese with some terms and expressions. This time is matter of nouns of crimes.

arson = setting fire to a building = incendio

assassination = killing a public figure intentionally

assault = acting in a way as to make someone believe he\she will be hurt

bigamy = getting married when you are still married to someone else = bigamia

blackmail = getting money\personal advantage from people by threatening to publicize facts they don't want to reveal = not dissimilar to estorsione

bribery = offering money corruptly to get someone to do something for you = corruzione

burglary =entering a building illegally and committing an offense = violazione di domicilio

embezzlement =the crime of stealing the funds or property of an employer, company or government or misappropriating money or assets held in trust = similar to appropriazione indebita

espionage =the crime of spying on the federal government and/or transferring state secrets on behalf of a foreign country. The other country need not be an "enemy," so espionage may not be treason, which involves aiding an enemy = spionaggio (these days breaking news with the Snowden case)

extortion = threatening a victim's property or loved ones through intimidation or false claim in order to obtain money or property = estorsione

forgery = counterfeiting or otherwise altering a document, records, identity, signature etc with an intention to fake the document and draw undue benefit from that act = similar to contraffazione

fraud = doing of any wrong activity with an intention to gain undue or illegitimate advantages at the detriment of the sufferer = frode

libel = writing, publishing or broadcasting a statement which damages someone's character = diffamazione

manslaughter =killing or cause to death of a person without a pre-meditation or intention to kill or cause death, whether voluntarily or otherwise. In manslaughter there is no intention or pre-plan to kill but killing or death occurred due to an impulsive act or a careless act= omicidio preterintenzionale

murder = killing or death of a person by another sane person unlawfully and proved to be under no authority to kill or with the intent of killing the other because of malice or revenge. Murders fetch highest of punishments.The forms of murders are different and described separately in court of law, depending on which they are termed first degree or second degree murders where the punishment level differs. If the death is intentional and pre planned, it is a first degree murder. It can also be a result of negligence or recklessness, where a heavy bodily harm may or may not be intended, will have less serious impact, though still a serious matter = omicidio volontario, different from a negligent homicide (= omicidio colposo) because of the mental state (mens rea) of the murderer

perjury = giving a false information or statement which was testified under the oath = falsa testimonianza

piracy =unauthorized use or appropriation of patented or copyrighted material = pirateria

slander = saying something that damages someone's reputation = ingiuria. Same thing as libel, but libel is written, while slander is oral

smuggling = illegal transportation of goods or person across an international border = contrabbando

theft =stealing\ taking someone else's property = furto

treason = treachery, betrayal to ones own country usually by the way of supporting and purposely aiding the enemies = tradimento

Like in every other country (almost every), also in the U.S. crimes are classified by their gravity. In U.S. they are divided between felony and misdemeanor. The federal government defines a felony as a crime punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year. If punishable by exactly one year or less, it is classified as a misdemeanor (US Code).

It can be compared with the distinction between delitti and contravvenzioni made by the Italian penal code on the grounds of the punishment applicable.

Another point worth of being analyzed here is how an homicide can be classified according to its gravity and course of action. At base, murder consists of an intentional unlawful act with a design to kill and fatal consequences. Under U.S. federal law, murder is classified as the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought (=premeditazione) (definition). Malice is the intention to kill, and can be expressed or implied (similar to italian dolo).

States have adopted several different schemes for classifying murders by degree. The most common separates murder into two degrees, and treats voluntary and involuntary manslaughter as separate crimes that do not constitute murder.

first degree murder: any murder that is willful and premeditated (definition);

second degree murder: not premeditated or planned in advance (definition);

voluntary manslaughter: intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed (definition);

involuntary manslaughter: unintentional killing that results from recklessness or criminal negligence, or from an unlawful act that is a misdemeanor or low-level felony. The victim is unintended (definition.

Some states classify their murders differently. In Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts, first degree murder encompasses premeditated murders, second degree murder encompasses accomplice liability , and third degree serves as a catch-all for other murders. In New York, first-degree murder involves "special circumstances," such as the murder of a police officer or witness to a crime, multiple murders, or murders involving torture.Under this system, second degree murder is any other premeditated murder. The New York statutes also recognize "murder for hire" as first degree murder.Texas uses a similar scheme to New York, but refers to first-degree murder as "capital murder," a term which typically applies only to those crimes that merit the death penalty. Some states, such as Florida, do not separate the two kinds of manslaughter (illinois first degree; illinois second degree).



In opposition to this classification, the Italian system divides the homicide into three categories: omicidio volontario, omicidio preterintenzionale and omicidio colposo, depending on the fact if the death was wanted, was the unwanted consequence of battery or other crimes, or it was caused out of negligence.