ABSTRACT
One way of viewing murder is to see it at the extreme end of the spectrum of violence. This is essentially correct, but it is necessary to enter some caveats. For example murder is not unlawful when committed in pursuance of warfare or in pursuance of judicial execution. Killing may be viewed in a more lenient light if the act was unintentional, or occurred in serendipitous fashion as when, for example, as referred to in Chapter 6, the victim succumbed because of an existing health problem, thin skull or failure of the para-medical services to arrive quickly enough. In addition, the severity of the penalty for unlawful killing may be mitigated by factors such as loss of control or mental disturbance.
