In 1974, the first Victoria Law Reform Commissioner recommended that murder be limited to killing with intent to kill. He objected to the wider definition, which subjects persons to the most serious punishment for unintended consequences of their acts. The only intentional killings which should be murder are those with the purpose of causing death or where death is recognized as a substantial risk of the action of the killer. Most offenders excluded by the proposed amendment will probably receive convictions of the serious offense of manslaughter. With mercy killings, death is indeed the intent, but the killer is acting out of compassion. Creation of a new offense of mercy killing would be more just, with a lower penalty than that for murder. Or the punishment for murder could become a discretionary sentence, which would allow the judge to take account of motive in sentencing. At present, the punishment for murder is a mandatory life sentence. The mandatory sentence prevents judges from marking the gravity of an offense. Sentencing should be public, and should reflect the heinousness of the specific killing. This would allow for a distinction between a mercy killing and a vicious and sadistic mass murder. Judges already have power of discretion for all other sentencing situations. A glossary and a discussion of homicide patterns from 1975 to 1982 are included.