Personal hostility as a motive for committing homicide

Context and relevance. Personal hostility is the most common motive for committing murders, but their understanding in judicial practice, psychology and theoretical jurisprudence is not unambiguous. Objective. To determine the structure of motives for murders, which are reflected in judicial practice as “personal hostility” Hypothesis. The legal category of “personal hostility” actually hides a wide range of different motives that have significant differences that can influence the sentencing. Methods and materials. The main scientific results were obtained through a content analysis of 200 murder convictions. The sentences were handed down between 2019 and 2024. The sample of court decisions made it possible to cover more than 50 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Results. Based on the analysis, it was established that the template legal category of "personal hostile relations" includes motives that have both common features and significant differences. The predominant ones are internal motives caused by verbal conflict and insults (often mutual), illegal violent actions of the victim and jealousy. To a lesser extent, the category of "personal hostile relations" includes revenge and the desire to get rid of responsibilities for caring for a sick person. It was established that most motives arise suddenly, but the motives of revenge and the desire to get rid of responsibilities are characterized by stability. Conclusions. The author comes to the conclusion that a formal approach to the subjective features of a crime has developed in judicial practice, as a result of which various motives are reduced to one category, and preventive measures are not entirely effective. The article argues for the advisability of abandoning the formal approach when conducting an investigation and trial. The results obtained can be used in developing and adjusting measures to prevent violent crime.