Motives Deserving Particular Condemnation as a Factor Causing Deterioration of the Accused’s Legal Situation in Polish Law (Published)
Article 148 of Polish Criminal Code contains aggravated offense in the form of murder for motives deserving particular condemnation (art. 148 § 2 point 3 of the Criminal Code), which is explained in literature as the case when the offender motives grossly deviate from accepted practices, which – taking into account that the killing, as such, is a serious violation of this pattern – clearly indicates the need of any additional element in the motivation of the perpetrator, and that the decision make murder makes a particularly reprehensible. Such is the will to kill a man at the request for a fee, to kill in order to seize the property of someone else (e.g . committed in its intention to murder the father or husband to take his fortune), planned the murder in order to get rid of those uncomfortable (e.g. rival to the desired position, in financial or personal matters), or to exert revenge on someone. The research indicates, that there are many kinds of behavior that may be considered by the Polish courts to have been made as a result of motives deserving special condemnation. The research is conducted as a part of study of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice (University of Warsaw, Institute of Social Prevention and Resocialization Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice) – research on 301 homicide offenders sentenced to life imprisonment.
Keywords: Life Imprisonment, Motive., Murder, Poland