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Murder or Assassination?

Why do we call the murder of an everyday person "murder" and if a head of state is murdered it's called an "assassination"?

15 Answers

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  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago
    Favorite Answer

    Assassination is murder with more political (or sometimes religious) overtones. Generally it isn't murder for the sake of murder but an attempt to bring about a change of some kind that is usually opposite to what the murdered person is fighting for.

  • 1 decade ago

    Assassination is the deliberate killing of an important person, usually a political figure or other strategically important individual, by someone with a political or ideological agenda. Murder is usually based on more personal reasons, or the killing of a stranger. A killing where the goal is not in order to further an ideal or political purpose is just a murder.

    Although at times the line can blur.

  • 1 decade ago

    Assassination includes planning and stalking, and the murder of a head of state usually involves a political motive.

    Most "ordinary" murders "just happen." Arguments escalate, one party loses it completely and kills the other.

    Plus "President Assassinated" fills all six columns of a regular paper and is more graphically appealing, and the news folks are the ones who get to name an event.

  • 1 decade ago

    Politics!! One persons murder is anothers assassination

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  • 1 decade ago

    An assassination has a much higher degree to premeditation and planning and the assassion has every intention of getting away with what they have done. Where murder is often spur of the moment and sloppy. Assassination is very calculated and thought out.

  • 1 decade ago

    Merriam Webster says that assassinate means "to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons."

    That's a little different than most murders.

  • 1 decade ago

    The Hashshashin (also Hashishin, Hashashiyyin or Assassins) had a militant basis as a religious sect (often referred to as a cult) of Ismaili Muslims from the Nizari sub-sect. They were thought to be active in the 8th to 14th centuries. This mystic secret society specialized in terrorising the Abbasid elite with fearlessly executed, politically motivated assassinations. The word "assassin" is derived from their name.

    Source(s): Wikipedia; also, assassination is used differently as murder as the victims of assassinatin are often political leaders.
  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    homicide is an offence in regulation.Assassination is the killing of a particular individual yet isn't constantly homicide as that's sanctioned by employing a state ie. if an allied sniper had killed Hitler for the period of time of conflict it would arguably no longer be homicide.Assassination isn't a particular offence and the crime charged if it grew to become into unlawful is homicide. In different words assassination is extra to do with who's killed and why,whilst homicide is to do with whether a killing is unlawful and grew to become into committed with malice and aforethought.It doesnt purely count on who gets killed case in point if the top minister grew to become into killed by employing his spouse over a kinfolk matter that wouldnt be an assassination.

  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    I believe it based upon political motives rather than personal ones.

  • 1 decade ago

    assasinations are planned out murders are just random not as much planned just done.

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