Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against the person - Murder, manslaughter, etc

172: Punishment of murder

You could also call this:

“If you murder someone, you could go to jail forever, but there are special rules about this.”

If you commit murder, you can be sent to prison for the rest of your life. This is the maximum punishment for murder.

However, there’s an exception to this rule. The exact punishment for murder is affected by another part of the law called section 102 of the Sentencing Act 2002. This means that in some cases, the punishment might be different from life in prison.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329320.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Criminal law

171: Manslaughter, or

“When someone causes a death that isn't murder, it's called manslaughter.”

173: Attempt to murder, or

“This law says you can go to jail for up to 14 years if you try to kill someone on purpose.”

Part 8 Crimes against the person
Murder, manslaughter, etc

172Punishment of murder

Every one who commits murder is liable to imprisonment for life.
Subsection (1) is subject to section 102 of the Sentencing Act 2002.

Notes

Section 172: replaced, on 30 June 2002, by section 165 of the Sentencing Act 2002 (2002 No 9).