A while back I criticized the paper for labeling a police action a “homicide.” Today, it appears they have seen the light:
Lewis’ slaying is the city’s tenth. Not included in the list of deaths is the fatal shooting by police of 26-year-old James E. Lee. Lee was killed after he reportedly refused to drop a handgun when police responded to his Peoria home on a domestic disturbance call on April 26.
That’s more like it. Thanks to alert reader PeoriaIllinoisan for bringing this to my attention.
Well they weren’t off for too long, I heard on the radio this morning that number 11 has happened.
The million dollar question is how many of these crimes have been solved?
Ask and ye shall receive. I wrote to Officer Ruggles at the Peoria Police Department, and she sent me the following e-mail:
I have to admit, I didn’t realize that they had been that successful so far this year. I found this information very encouraging.
Perhaps the Journal Star should do an in depth article on this and include trial dates and pleas ect. so we can see what Kevin Lyons has done with the 8 murderers so far.
none of the people arrested for 2007 murders have gone on trial yet.
From dictionary.com:
homicide n.- the killing of one human being by another.
Sounds like the police officer committed homicide to me. Regardless of the reason or circumstances, it is always tragic, and it is always homicide, when one person takes a life.
Cory,
Yes, and dictionary.com also defines “terrorist” as “a person who terrorizes or frightens others.” So I guess we could call Anthony Hopkins a terrorist since he played Hannibal Lecter and frightened many people with his portrayal. I mean, it fits the dictionary definition, so clearly it’s the most appropriate word to use, right?
I never said it was any less tragic; my only point is that “homicide” carries with it a connotation beyond the simple definition of the word. In fact, if you look up the word in other dictionaries, it recognizes that connotation. For instance, the Oxford American Dictionary defines “homicide” as “the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder.” There are words and there are terms. There are denotations and connotations. Language is not as simple as a dictionary.com definition.
CJ:
I’m with you on this one. In common usage, the word connotes an unlawful killing.
In my other life, however (when I’m not masquerading as a disgruntled and disgraced Cub fan), I am one of the folks who must deal with the aftermath of these murders in a court of law. In that context, the word is narrowly defined in its true meaning: the killing of a human by another. In this context, the officer committed a justifiable homicide (as would anyone who is found to have killed another in self-defense).
Now, rant-on with your bad self. I love your blog. Good job on that CityLink post.
Bartman
P.S. No, a newspaper wouldn’t/shouldn’t use the word “beef.” It’s a slang term. But, yes, I agree with you regarding context and common usage.