What’s The Difference Between Wrongful Death & Murder?
Brian O Sutter
Wrongful Death
During the years 1994 and 1995, most of America was fixed to the television waiting for the latest courtroom developments in the case of former football athlete O.J. Simpson and his trial. He was accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend. This was clearly a criminal court case, and it was one of the most widely followed and talked about court cases of the 20th century, not just for the notoriety of the person involved, but even the questions it raised about the American court and judicial process.In the end, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson, or Ron Goldman, but his time in court wasn’t over. Despite being found innocent of murder, Simpson was sued for wrongful death, and this was a trial he lost. He was subsequently required to pay out 33.5 million dollars in damages because Simpson, despite being innocent of murder, was found liable for wrongful death.
So how did this happen? How can someone not be a killer and yet be responsible for the death of others?
Criminal & Civil
This is one of those situations where it may be safe to say that while every murder can potentially be a wrongful death, not every wrongful death is a murder. The big difference between these two types of cases is in the nature of the trials that are held.
Murder is a criminal offense. When someone is accused of murder and taken to trial for it, the final determination of innocent or guilty is going be resolved with punishment in the form of imprisonment. In other words, as with any criminal, someone that is found guilty of murder is going to go to jail.
Wrongful death, however, is not a criminal act, and the trial itself is considered a civil trial. There are still some similarities between a criminal and a civil trial, such as a final verdict—though in this case it is liable, or not. There is also the use of a jury to eventually debate, discuss, and settle on a final verdict.
The biggest differentiator between a criminal murder trial and a civil wrongful death trial is punishment. A guilty verdict means a jail sentence, while a liable verdict means that the defendant is now required to pay out whatever sum is being sued for.
Financial Punishment
Wrongful death is not a difficult concept to grasp. Anyone can take another person or company into court for a wrongful death suit if it is believed that someone died as a result of another person or company’s incompetence, neglect, or malice. Sometimes a wrongful death suit is pursued for simple financial compensation. In the case of a mother or father being the primary breadwinner in a family, that person’s death will affect the fortunes of an entire family, so wrongful death will help alleviate that financial hardship.
In other cases however, wrongful death may simply be an additional means to punish someone. It may be a way to rub salt into the wound for someone that has committed murder. Or, as in the case of the O.J. Simpson trial, it may be an alternative for a family to get some kind of peace of mind for themselves if the criminal court doesn’t give it to them.