Why people Kill

There are many reasons why people kill. Sometimes it's fear. If you are desperately afraid of someone hurting you physically you might lash out, with or without the intent to kill. This could be spur of the moment, as in self defence if being attacked. But sometimes, it's not as black and white as that. What if you are in a violent relationship, and know that when he walks through that door, the blows will rain down on you just like they do every time he comes home drunk? There may be children involved and to protect yourself and them, finally you pluck up the courage to fight back. For whatever reason you choose not to find help to escape but instead to cave in the back of his head with a fire poker. This is also self defence, but not so cut and dry as it would be if you hit him on the head in the middle of getting smacked about.

Men suffer in violent relationships too. It's harder sometimes for a man to admit to outsiders that he's being battered at home by his wife. So at some point he may finally snap and kill her.

Then there's anger. This often goes hand in hand with drinking or drug taking. When our inhabitions are taken away it's easy for any situation to get out of hand. A comment may be taken in the wrong way, or a snub felt where none was intended. Before you know it, fists are flying and one wrongly landed blow later, sobriety hits faster than expected. But sometimes it's a simple case of not being able to hold one's temper and, picking up an object and flinging it in the direction of someone infuriating you may be a typical way of expressing anger for some people but it only takes one time for that object to strike in a vulnerable area for manslaughter charges to be brought.

Road rage can lead to devastating consequences. Usually-pleasant people suddenly explode with temper if someone cuts them off on the road. They forget they're driving a lethal weapon and a road race ensues. Before you know it, there are mangled cars and maybe one or more dead bodies.

Desperation could be a motive for killing someone. Again, drugs are often involved when this is the reason behind killing. Diminished responsibility is another factor to take into account. If someone is high, or drunk, which is no defence at all; or has some sort of mental problem in which case they cannot be held responsible for their actions.

Mercy killings. This may be when a doctor knowingly overdoses a patient on,eg, morphine to help them die an easier, faster death. Someone nursing a loved one at home who they can't bear to see in pain or suffering any longer may find a way to bring about that person's death peacefully - and, unnaturally.

Religious fanatics will kill anyone, including themselves, to secure their place in the afterlife. Sadists will inflict torture for their own pleasure and gratification and often their victim's ordeal will end in death.

Greed is another reason to kill. Perhaps that inheritance you've been looking forward to receiving from rich old uncle George in due course is now in danger of being gifted elsewhere. What to do? Get rid of him before he has a chance to change the will in favour of the local cats home, perhaps? Or maybe good old Jerry at work is favourite for that promotion with the huge salary increase and added benefits. That would be yours for sure if he was out of the equation. Hmm..or maybe you're getting paid to kill someone, as an assassin, perhaps. Or a mercenary.

But there's also greed on a large scale. When whole countries go to war with each other because of oil, or diamonds, or disputed boundary lines but usually find another excuse to give to the rest of the world, like human rights violations in the country being invaded, for instance. Sometimes that's true.

And sometimes, it isn't.