Death threat

A death threat is a threat of death, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or groups of people. These threats are usually designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behavior, thus a death threat is a form of coercion. For example, a death threat could be used to dissuade a public figure from pursuing a criminal investigation or an advocacy campaign.

In many jurisdictions, death threats are a criminal offense. Death threats are often covered by coercion statutes. For instance, the coercion statute in Alaska says:

A person commits the crime of coercion if the person compels another to engage in conduct from which there is a legal right to abstain or abstain from conduct in which there is a legal right to engage, by means of instilling in the person who is compelled a fear that, if the demand is not complied with, the person who makes the demand or another may inflict physical injury on anyone....^[1]

Methods

A death threat can be communicated via a wide range of mediums, among these letters, newspaper publications, telephone calls, internet blogs,^[2] and e-mail. If the threat is made against a political figure, it can also be considered treason. If a threat is against a non-living location that frequently contains living individuals (e.g. a building) it could be a terrorist threat. Sometimes death threats are part of a wider campaign of abuse targeting a person or a group of people (see terrorism, mass murder).

Here is an example of an actual death threat, from the book Wordcrime by John Olsson. This is a genuine example from a criminal case, provided by the Forensic Linguistics Institute, which analyzes all kinds of text, including traditional letters, ransom demands, hate mail, various texts via mobile phone; SMS device, etc., for authorship:

Boris: I am one of the 4 employees still in the office. I have withheld my identity because I have realised that nothing is a secret any more, the author of the anonymous doc is now a public information. I write as a matter of genuine concern. We in the office are convinced that there is a real threat at your life, some mysterious people are looking for you (different people at different times). They are not genuine people. The cops are also looking for you, they say they want to return you to court, they look like there is more than meets the eye or more that we know of. regards

Death threats against a head of state

In some monarchies and republics, both democratic and authoritarian, threatening to kill the head of state and/or head of government (such as the sovereign, president, or prime minister) is considered a crime for which punishments vary. US law provides for up to 5 years in prison for threatening the President of the United States. In the United Kingdom, under the Treason Felony Act 1848, it is illegal to attempt to kill or deprive the monarch of her throne; this offense was originally punished with penal transportation and then was changed to the death penalty and currently the penalty is life imprisonment.

Osman warning, letter or notice

These are warnings of death threat or high risk of murder that are issued by British police or legal authorities to the expected victim.^[3] They are used when there is intelligence of the threat, but there is not enough evidence to justify the police arresting the expected murderer.^[4]

The warnings are named after a high-profile case, Osman v United Kingdom, of police failing to protect individuals despite some warning signs pointing at impending aggression. The murderer in this case said to the police: "Why didn't you stop me before I did it, I gave you all the warning signs?" The police had known that the murderer had posed a threat to several people, and had carried out criminal acts against some of them, but the police had not informed those at risk of the seriousness of the threat.^[5] In September 1989 the family commenced a civil action in negligence against the police. This was dismissed by the High Court and then upheld on appeal in 1992. Further action was taken by the family in the European Commission of Human Rights beginning in November 1993 with a final report being issued in 1997.^[6]

See also

• Assassination
• Bomb threat
• Coercion
• Extortion
• Assault
• Witness intimidation
• United States Federal Witness Protection Program
• United States Marshals Service
• Terrorism
• Hostage
• Interrogation
• Kidnapping
• Torture
• Secret Service
• Bulletproof vest
• Armour
• Undercover
• Contract killing
• Informant
• Stalking

References

1. ^ Alaska Statute 11.41.530(a)(1)
2. ^ Blog death threats spark debate BBC News retrieved September 30, 2007
3. ^ http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/2157509/Dads-death-threat-warning.html
4. ^ http://www.bedfordtoday.co.uk/bed-news/Beds-is-one-of-nations.4185282.jp
5. ^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4092890.ece
6. ^ http://a-level-law.com/tort/Negligence/osman.html

External links

• Judiciary Criminal Charges
• [1] The Forensic Linguistics Institute