Assassination

[paul4469]

How important do you need to be before it says you were assassinated rather than just murdered. What is the criteria to be elevated into the assassination bracket

[Peter Pedant]

good question, when prof Hamilton Fairley, a cancer specialist, was blown up by a bomb by mistake in 1973 - [we didnt mean to blow up the professor...Balcombe street gang member] assassination was not thought to be correct term as it was a....erm mistake....

[netibiza]

Same as being mad or eccentric!!

[Romeo]

What makes a murder an assassination is a question of motive.  If someone murdered an important statesman for some personal, non-political reason, that would NOT be assassination. However, if a rubbish collector who happened to be the leader of some great mass movement (e.g. a civil rights leader) was killed to stop them carrying out their political activities, that would be assassination.

[bernardo]

I agree with Romeo.  Jill Dando was murdered (not assassinated) because there was no political reason.  A local councillor of whom most people have never heard might be murdered, and it would count as an assassination if it was because of his/her political position.