Reckless homicide is a
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
in which the perpetrator was aware that their act (or
failure to act when there is a legal
duty to act) creates significant risk of death or grievous bodily harm in the victim, but ignores the risk and continues to act (or fail to act), and a human death results.
It is contrasted with
negligent homicide
Negligent homicide is a criminal charge brought against a person who, through criminal negligence, allows another person to die.
Examples include the crash of Aeroperu Flight 603 near Lima, Peru. The accident was caused by a piece of duct tape ...
, in which the perpetrator did not have the awareness of the risk, but should have had it.
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References
{{Crime-stub
Homicide
Recklessness (law)