Section 187 (often referred to in slang simply as 187) of the

California Penal Code The Penal Code of California forms the basis for the application of most criminal law, criminal procedure, penal institutions, and the execution of sentences, among other things, in the American state of California. It was originally enacted ...

defines the crime of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

. The number is commonly pronounced by reading the digits separately as "one-eight-seven", or "one-eighty-seven", rather than "one hundred eighty-seven". The number "187" has been used by

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

s throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and elsewhere as a synonym for murder; this usage has been documented in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. It also features widely in

hip-hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntabli ...

, such as in

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

's "

Deep Cover ''Deep Cover'' is a 1992 American action thriller film starring Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum and Charles Martin Smith, and directed by veteran actor Bill Duke in his third directorial outing. The screenplay was written by Henry Bean and Aca ...

California Penal Code Section 187

California Penal Code section 187, subdivision (a) defines murder as "the unlawful killing of a human being, or a fetus, with

malice aforethought Malice aforethought is the "premeditation" or "predetermination" (with malice (law), malice) required as an element of some crimes in some jurisdictions and a unique element for first-degree or aggravation (law), aggravated murder in a few. Insof ...

". Subdivision (b) states that subdivision (a) does "not apply to any person who commits an act that results in the death of a fetus if any of the following apply: (1) The act complied with the Therapeutic Abortion Act itation (2) The act was committed by a holder of a physician's and surgeon's certificate itation in a case where, to a medical certainty, the result of childbirth would be death of the mother of the fetus or where her death from childbirth, although not medically certain, would be substantially certain or more likely than not. (3) The act was solicited, aided, abetted, or consented to by the mother of the fetus." In California, suspects are usually charged by reference to one or more Penal Code (PC) sections. Thus, the charging documents for a suspect charged with murder would be inscribed with "PC 187(a)" or just "PC 187". If a suspect is charged with attempted murder, then the relevant code would be "PC 664/187" because attempt is defined in Penal Code section 664.For examples of this, see th
Felony Bail Schedule

Superior Court of California Superior courts in California are the state trial courts with general jurisdiction to hear and decide any civil or criminal action which is not specially designated to be heard in some other court or before a governmental agency. As mandated by t ...

County of Santa Cruz Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa ...

. Under the California Uniform Bail Schedule, the standard

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

for murder is $750,000. The standard bail for first-degree murder with special circumstances (that is, circumstances under which the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

is seeking the death penalty) is "NO BAIL".

Notable uses

In the song "

April 29, 1992 (Miami) "April 29, 1992 (Miami)" is a song written by American rock band Sublime in 1996 from their eponymous album '' Sublime''. The song title refers to the date of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, of which news spread throughout the United States follo ...

" by Sublime, Bradley Nowell used the lyrics "And screamin' 1-8-7 on a motherfuckin' cop," alluding to Dr. Dre's song. The lyrics are related to the riots that ensued after the video evidence and eyewitnesses of police brutality, the beating of

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

and the violence that was evident during that year. In the 1999 movie ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

'', police officer Jim Kurring (played by

John C. Reilly John Christopher Reilly (born May 24, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, musician, producer, and writer. After his film debut in ''Casualties of War'' (1989), he gained exposure through his supporting roles in ''Days of Thunder'' (1990), ''Wh ...

), thinking Claudia (played by

Melora Walters Melora Walters (born October 21, 1959) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Wanda Henrickson in the television series ''Big Love'' and Kathy Kone in '' PEN15'', and has appeared in several Paul Thomas Anderson films. ...

) is involved in a situation domestic abuse, remarks that things can often go bad if the victim does not speak up, and he does not want to come out to a "one eighty-seven", a reference that Claudia does not understand, but he does not elaborate. In the 2002 EP ''

From the Depths of Dreams ''From the Depths of Dreams'' is the debut EP by American rock band Senses Fail. It was recorded at Nada Engineering Studio in New Windsor, New York, with John Naclerio and the band acting as producers. Naclerio served as engineer and mixed the ...

'' by the

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...

band

Senses Fail Senses Fail is an American rock band formed in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in 2001. Founded by vocalist James "Buddy" Nielsen, drummer Dan Trapp, guitarists Garrett Zablocki and Dave Miller, and bassist James Gill (replaced by Mike Glita shortly afte ...

, there is a track titled "One Eight Seven", with subject matter surrounding murder. It was one of their better known songs, but the band retired it from their live sets in 2013 due to the lyrical themes and Buddy Neilsen feeling that he had personally moved on from the song. In 2019, the band re-imagined ''From the Depths of Dreams'' including the song "One Eight Seven", which they had not played live in over five years.

References

External links

{{Wiktionary, 187 English-language slang Hip hop phrases Murder in California Murder in the United States

California Penal Code Section 187

Notable uses

See also

References

External links