Types of Serious Crime and Punishment Serious punishments exist for serious crimes.

The most serious crimes in our nation are considered felonies. Below are descriptions of three of the most serious felony offenses and the ways that they are punished. Murder While to many of us, murder may be the act of taking anothers life, in law, murder is defined as the intentional act of killing someone. In this sense, intention involves malice aforethought; that is, a person has time to consider his or her actions and acts with the desire to take another human beings life. Under this definition, a person must be sane to commit murder, have no legal authority or excuse to kill someone, and act deliberately. Murder is often classified as first degree or second degree. The definitions of each degree vary slightly according to each state, but generally, first-degree murder is considered any murder that was premeditated or occurred under special circumstances. Special circumstances include things like the murder of a police officer, judge or witness to a crime. Second-degree murder is generally considered any murder that is not premeditated. Non pre-meditated murder may include killing someone in the heat of the moment if you knew that your actions would take the life of another. To understand what these degrees of murder charges mean in your state, it is important to look at your states statutes or consult a criminal defense attorney. No matter what degree of murder a person is charged with, the prosecution must prove that there was malice for a person to be convicted of murder. Non-premeditated murder may be hard to prove, but may also be implied. Malice may be implied from a reckless lack of concern for other human beings demonstrated by actions that needlessly put other people in danger. While it may seem obvious that the person who committed a murder is the one who will be charged with murder; however, it is important to be aware that, in some states, individuals who were involved in crime with a partner who killed

someone may also be charged with murder. In addition, a person does not need to be killed instantly for an individual to be charged with murder. Rather, a person must die within a year of the attack for a death to be considered a murder. Sentencing for murder varies from state to state, but murder is generally punishable by life in prison or the death sentence. Both degrees of murder are subject to life in prison; however, second-degree murder convictions generally have a shorter incarceration time before they are eligible for parole while firstdegree murder convictions are imprisoned for life without eligiblity for parole. Manslaughter Manslaughter is different than murder, even though both crimes involve the taking of another human life. Where murder has elements of intentionality and malice, manslaughter does not. Manslaughter is neither intentional nor premeditated and is generally classified in two levels: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary Manslaughter Voluntary manslaughter occurs in the heat of passion or while committing a felony. The reason this is not considered murder is due to the individuals state of mind and lack of forethought for carrying out murder. When a person loses control of him or herself in a heated argument, it is generally not considered murder since the person did not set out to kill the other person, even though the situation escalated to such a deadly climax. Remember, murder is intentional, manslaughter, even if it is voluntary, is not. Voluntary manslaughter is provoked killing, not premeditated killing. If malice and intention can be proven in any circumstance, an initial charge of voluntary manslaughter may easily be changed to a more serious charge of murder.

Involuntary Manslaughter Involuntary manslaughter occurs when there is no intention to kill but someone dies as a result of someone elses negligence or recklessness. Negligence occurs when a person acts with carelessness or inattention that causes damage to another person. While negligence is often the leading factor in personal injury claims, some injuries lead to death. And if that death occurs within one year of an accident, it is considered manslaughter and negligence becomes a criminal matter. Recklessness is another reason for manslaughter. When a person acts with total disregard for the safety of others in a particular situation and a death results from another individuals actions, it is considered involuntary manslaughter. A person may be reckless in the way he or she drives and cause the death of another human being due to that recklessness. This would be considered involuntary manslaughter. Sentencing for manslaughter varies from state to state and generally carries a less severe penalty than murder. In fact, some instances of involuntary manslaughter are not considered felonies, but misdemeanors. In most cases, a manslaughter conviction carries jail time and a fine. Assault and Battery Assault and battery is a combination of two crimes: threat and actual beating. A person may be charged with assault or battery individually or assault and battery combined. Depending on the severity of the crime, an assault and battery charge may be a misdemeanor or a felony and the punishment for such activity is based on the severity of the crime. Assault Assault occurs when there is a threat or actual attempt to harm another individual. As such, assault is both a civil and criminal wrong. This means that a person who commits assault may be charged and tried for the crime and be sued for damages by their victim. Assault may or may not result in actual physical

contact, but the threatening individual must create a state of peril for their victim and be capable of carrying out their attack for a threat to be considered assault. Battery Battery is an intentional physical action against another individual. It is the act of striking another human being with an intention to harm them. If a physical encounter is not intended to cause harm, it is not considered battery, even if there are damages after the encounter. Battery may also be both a civil and criminal offense allowing a victim to recover damages at the same time a suspect faces criminal charges. Harsh sentences for assault and battery exist when these crimes are carried out against vulnerable people groups such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Severe penalties may also apply when these crimes are: committed while engaging in criminal activity, directed toward minorities or carried out against a spouse or someone you share a home with. Assault and battery can result in criminal charges that result in jail time and fines, having to pay for a victims damages and having a restraining order taken out against you. When a person is tried for assault and battery their sentence is largely determined by the circumstances leading up to the offense in addition to their prior criminal history. If you are charged with a felony, it is important to contact an attorney immediately after your arrest to help ensure that your rights are protected and you understand the charges that you face. An experienced criminal defense attorney should be able to help you develop a strong defense for the charges that you face

Computer Crimes Computer crimes involve the unauthorized use of computer technology to manipulate critical user data. To know about the various types of computer crimes, read on. Computer crimes are criminal activities, which involve the use of information technology to gain an illegal or an unauthorized access to a computer system with intent of damaging, deleting or altering computer data. Computer crimes also include the activities such as electronic frauds, misuse of devices, identity theft and data as well as system interference. Computer crimes may not necessarily involve damage to physical property. They rather include the manipulation of confidential data and critical information. Computer crimes involve activities of software theft, wherein the privacy of the users is hampered. These criminal activities involve the breach of human and information privacy, as also the theft and illegal alteration of system critical information. The different types of computer crimes have necessitated the introduction and use of newer and more effective security measures. Hacking: The activity of breaking into a computer system to gain an unauthorized access is known as hacking. The act of defeating the security capabilities of a computer system in order to obtain an illegal access to the information stored on the computer system is called hacking. The unauthorized revelation of passwords with intent to gain an unauthorized access to the private communication of an organization of a user is one of the widely known computer crimes. Another highly dangerous computer crime is the hacking of IP addresses in order to transact with a false identity, thus remaining anonymous while carrying out the criminal activities. Phishing: Phishing is the act of attempting to acquire sensitive information like usernames, passwords and credit card details by disguising as a trustworthy source. Phishing is carried out through emails or by luring the users to enter

personal information through fake websites. Criminals often use websites that have a look and feel of some popular website, which makes the users feel safe to enter their details there. Computer Viruses: Computer viruses are computer programs that can replicate themselves and harm the computer systems on a network without the knowledge of the system users. Viruses spread to other computers through network file system, through the network, Internet or by the means of removable devices like USB drives and CDs. Computer viruses are after all, forms of malicious codes written with an aim to harm a computer system and destroy information. Writing computer viruses is a criminal activity as virus infections can crash computer systems, thereby destroying great amounts of critical data. Cyberstalking: The use of communication technology, mainly the Internet, to torture other individuals is known as cyberstalking. False accusations, transmission of threats and damage to data and equipment fall under the class of cyberstalking activities. Cyberstalkers often target the users by means of chat rooms, online forums and social networking websites to gather user information and harass the users on the basis of the information gathered. Obscene emails, abusive phone calls and other such serious effects of cyberstalking have made it a type of computer crime. Identity Theft: This is one of the most serious frauds as it involves stealing money and obtaining other benefits through the use of a false identity. It is the act of pretending to be someone else by using someone else's identity as one's own. Financial identity theft involves the use of a false identity to obtain goods and services and a commercial identity theft is the using of someone else's business name or credit card details for commercial purposes. Identity cloning is the use of another user's information to pose as a false user. Illegal migration, terrorism and blackmail are often made possible by means of identity theft.

Computer crimes involve illegal exploitation of the computer and communication technology for criminal activities. While the advancing technology has served as a boon to mankind, the destructively directed human intellects are all set to turn technology into a curse. However, crimes are sure to end, as it is truth that always triumphs!