State-sanctioned homicides can include three different versions. The first kind of homicide which is allowed by the Government is the death penalty. The second is the right of civil officials to utilize deadly force in the event that a suspect does not listen to police instruction to cease threatening actions or appears to threaten either police or innocent bystanders.
The third situation in which the State can conduct a justifiable homicide is in an attempt to uphold the common welfare and apprehending individuals attempting to escape from jail.
The California Penal Code, for example, declares a killing to be a justifiable homicide if it is perpetrated by either public officials or by individuals seeking to provide aid or following the instructions of a police officer. The officers can only claim that a shooting is a justifiable homicide in three circumstances.
The first is if the homicide occurs while enforcing the justified rulings of a court. The second instance of justifiable homicide is when the officer is combating an attempt to resist the official's execution of his or her legally mandated duties. Homicides are also considered instances of justifiable homicide if the police official is attempting to detain an escaped felon, or a suspect is resisting arrest or attempting to escape and no other option is available.
Each State differs under the exact definitions of when homicides committed by police officials in the execution of their duties cease to be criminal and instead become instances of justifiable homicide. However, they all have statutes which exempt law enforcement officials from being charged with homicide when they engage in unintentional killings and had no other choice.
That a police officer is, in theory, allowed to commit a homicide when a suspect resists arrest is a utilitarian policy, allowing for the violation of a victim's rights. This utilitarian approach is founded on the notion that it is better to sacrifice the right of one person to life in the interest of ensuring the safety and security of the community.
Sixty percent of the world's population must contend with the possibility of the death penalty. The death penalty is a category of justifiable homicide which can only be utilized by a government. The four most populous countries in the world, the People's Republic of China, India, the United States, and Indonesia all make use of the death penalty.
In 2008, at least five thousand of the homicides in China were committed by the state. In India, three hundred and forty-six sentences of justifiable homicide were carried out by the state. The United States executed thirty-seven individuals. The probability of the state ceasing to authorize homicides through the death penalty is not very likely. Government-mandated homicides are usually performed by lethal injection, hanging, the gas chamber, making criminals face the firing squad, and electrocution.
