2007-05-03 20:35:57 · 8 answers · asked by da_mystique_virgin 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
in wikipedia this is the definition for murder:
Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being with "malice aforethought.
This is the definition for assassination.
Assassination is the murder of a political figure or another important individual. An added distinction between assassination and other forms of killing is that an assassin usually has an ideological or political motivation, though many assassins (especially those who are not part of an organised movement) also show elements of insanity. Other motivations may be money (as in the case of a contract killing), revenge, or as a military operation.
2007-05-03 21:10:58 · answer #1 · answered by NY gal 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He has to be the head of some significant government body.
Such as George Wallace, who survived an assassination attempt when Governor of Alabama. Alabama, being a State, qualifies as a significant government body, although it pales in comparison to most other States, and Wallace was an insignificant redneck twerp at the time.
2007-05-04 04:14:12 · answer #2 · answered by Grist 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Medgar Evers is on the border line, his death is sometimes called murder and sometimes an assassination. He was head of the Mississippi NAACP, was killed in 1963 because of his political activities in fighting segregation. Ordinary people who were killed in that period because the were working for civil rights were murdered. Martin Luther King was assassinated.
2007-05-04 05:48:27 · answer #3 · answered by meg 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes I think it's to do with the reasons behind the killing. Anyone targeted for killing for a political reason is assasinated.
If even the US president was killed by his wife with a blunt spoon for say, oh i dunno, getting up to no good with an intern in the oval office, that would just be murder or a crime of passion.
2007-05-04 03:44:13 · answer #4 · answered by mockney_piers 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I thought the difference had to do with premeditation. Sorry, made a mistake: it is murder that is premeditated, and not assassination.
2007-05-04 03:39:43 · answer #5 · answered by Lady Annabella-VInylist 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There seems to be two criteria: a sudden, surprise attack, and it being against a prominent person for political reasons.
2007-05-04 03:41:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Anyone who has a title attached to their name.
2007-05-04 03:45:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Importance" has nothing to do with it!!! Its all about how much money the person has and the power it dicates and regulates.
2007-05-04 03:54:07 · answer #8 · answered by Izen G 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋