Parricide

Parricide is the deliberate killing of one's own parent. It is an umbrella term that can be used to refer to acts of matricide, the deliberate killing of one's own mother, and patricide, the deliberate killing of one's own father. Societies consider parricide a serious crime and parricide offenders are subject to criminal prosecution under the homicide laws which are established in places (i.e., countries, states etc.) in which parricides occur. In most countries, an adult who is convicted of parricide faces a long-term prison sentence, a permanent prison sentence, or even a death sentence. Youthful parricide offenders who are younger than the age of majority (e.g., 18-year-olds in the United States & United Kingdom of Great Britain) may be prosecuted under less stringent laws which are designed to take their special needs and development into account, but these laws are usually waived and as a result, most youthful parricide offenders are transferred into the Adult Judicial System. Parricide offenders are typically divided into two categories; youthful parricide offenders (i.e. ages 8–24) and adult parricide offenders (i.e. ages 25 and older) because the motivations and situations surrounding parricide events change as a child matures. Parricide scholar Kathleen M. Heide has proposed four offender types; "severely abused adolescent" offenders who act to end their abuse or in protection of siblings, "severely mentally ill" offenders who act in a delusional state, "dangerously antisocial" perpetrators who act to eliminate a perceived obstacle in their freedom or for financial gain i.e. life insurance or inheritance and "enraged" offenders who act in an impulsive moment of anger.