[Page 608]The definition of homicide is widely accepted as being the killing of a person by the consequence of another person’s actions. Homicide can be a criminal act, holding the highest degree of consequences as punishable by law. Conversely, homicide can be excusable, or justifiable, by law dependent on key information such as circumstance, manner of death, and the absence of homicidal intention. The classification of homicide, investigative procedures involved in determining the classification of homicide, the application of homicide to law, statistics and prevalence of homicide, and homicide’s relationship with psychology are each relevant to the conceptual understanding of this behavior.