PRE-PRODUCTION: Research - Framing Murder: An Understanding

The act of Murder itself can be defined as:

'The unlawful pre-medicated killing of one human being by another' 

Most societies consider murder to be an incredibly serious crime which should receive harsh punishments, such as a long term prison sentence, potentially a life sentence, and in some societies such as the US, the death penalty may be imposed.
Although, for the purpose of this project I will not be writing about real life murder of an individual or even the murder of a character, I will be exploring the concept of framed murder of a young child. Therefore I wanted to research this topic to be able to write about it and represent it in a way that would justify the inclusion of it.

According to the English common law, murder is defined as a 'public wrong' and viewed generally with negative connotations through the eyes of society. By applying this concept to this project, I intend to ensure that the use of framing a murder is done with good reason for the purpose of telling the story and not used lightly.

I have found the elements of common law murder which can be defined as:

• The Unlawful - This included killings that are done within the boundaries of the law such as capital punishment or self defence. 

• Killing  - This is the total and irreversible cessation of blood circulation and respiration. 

• Criminal Act or Omission - Killing can be committed by an act or an omission (which is the failure to act)

• Of a human by another human - The person must have been killed by another person, excluding suicide. 

• With 'Malice Aforethought' - My understanding is that it must be deliberate and with premeditation that would require a certain amount of time to pass between the formation and execution with intent to kill.

After looking at the ideas of documenting murder or the framing of murder for use in this production, I feel more confident with the knowledge I have gained. Although, it won't be a central theme to the story, it will still be featured. I wanted to explore and research some background information surrounding it so that in documenting it, I can handle such a strong theme and occurrence. This is important to be able to depict the effects of such an event on the characters in the story and reflect this in a realistic manner.