[microcolonel]

From the wikipedia (which confirms my prior understanding):

>Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human being with malice aforethought. This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter.

Murder is both specifically unlawful (which is debatable in this case, even if we don't want it to be), and specifically premeditated (which it almost certainly is not). So I'd say murder is probably not accurate in common law jurisdictions, especially U.S. jurisdictions.

[dragonwriter]

> and specifically premeditated (which it almost certainly is not)

No, "malice aforethought" does not, in modern US usage, actually equal premeditation; there are four distinct states all held to be encompassed within "malice aforethought" [0]:

i. Intent to kill,

ii. Intent to inflict grievous bodily harm short of death,

iii. Reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (sometimes described as an "abandoned and malignant heart"), or

iv. Intent to commit a dangerous felony (the "felony murder" doctrine).

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice_aforethought#United_Sta...

[afandian]

To come at it from the point of view of my parent post. What conviction would a normal citizen normally receive if they shot someone with a gun? I have a hard time prosecutors wouldn't find a way to get the perpetrator tried for murder.

[ZoF]

And...?

These are obviously not _normal_ situations are they?

[lojack]

Premeditation is what separates first degree murder from second degree murder, not murder from manslaughter.