Which statement best defines homicide?

Which statement best defines homicide?

• A. A natural act of killing
• B. The act of one human taking the life of another
• C. An accidental killing
• D. A legal term for self-defense

Answer: (B)

Homicide is defined as the act of one human taking the life of another. This is a broad term that includes deaths caused by a person, regardless of whether the act was intentional, accidental, or justified. The description that calls homicide a natural act of killing doesn’t fit, since natural causes aren’t killings by a person. The description that frames it as an accidental killing narrows the concept to unintentional cases, whereas homicide covers both intentional and unintentional killings. The description that presents it as a legal term for self-defense isn’t the definition either—self-defense is a justification or defense that can excuse or diminish liability, but it doesn’t define what homicide means.

Homicide is defined as the act of one human taking the life of another. This is a broad term that includes deaths caused by a person, regardless of whether the act was intentional, accidental, or justified. The description that calls homicide a natural act of killing doesn’t fit, since natural causes aren’t killings by a person. The description that frames it as an accidental killing narrows the concept to unintentional cases, whereas homicide covers both intentional and unintentional killings. The description that presents it as a legal term for self-defense isn’t the definition either—self-defense is a justification or defense that can excuse or diminish liability, but it doesn’t define what homicide means.