Manslaughter

For other uses, see Manslaughter (disambiguation).

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Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder.

The law generally differentiates between levels of criminal culpability based on the mens rea, or state of mind. This is particularly true within the law of homicide, where murder requires either the intent to kill, a state of mind called malice or malice aforethought, which may involve an unintentional killing but with a willful disregard for life.

Manslaughter is usually broken down into two distinct categories: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter.

Voluntary manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter describes cases where the defendant may have an intent to cause death or serious injury, but the potential liability for the person is mitigated by the circumstances and state of mind. The most common example is the so-called heat of passion killing, such as where the defendant is provoked into a loss of control by unexpectedly finding a spouse in the arms of a lover or witnessing an attack against his or her child.

There have been several types of voluntary manslaughter recognized in law, although they are so closely related, and in many cases indistinguishable, that many jurisdictions do not differentiate between them.See, e.g., Manslaughter in the first degree, N.Y. State Penal Law section 125.20, found at N.Y. State Legislative web site (search for Penal Law § 125.20).

These types of defenses include:

1. Provocation. This is a killing caused by an event or situation which would probably cause a reasonable person to lose self-control and kill.
2. Heat of Passion. In this situation, the actions of another cause the defendant to act in the heat of the moment and without reflection. This falls under the provocation heading.
3. Imperfect self-defense This is a third type, which is allowed only in some US states. By default, self-defense is a complete defense to any charge of murder. However, if a person acted in the honest but unreasonable belief that self defense justified the killing, many US states will define this deliberate homicide committed without criminal malice, a manslaughter. The word "malice" is used in the definition of murder where the act is both an intentional killing and there is no legal excuse or mitigation. The honest belief in the need for self defense mitigates the crime so that one acts intentionally but without the legal "malice". Therefore, Imperfect Self-Defense refers to an intentional killing which is unlawful but does not rise to the level of being a murder.
4. Diminished Responsibility is another defense to murder that will negate the charge down. Most US states require an almost complete mental breakdown to eliminate the culpable mental state of "malice". If a jurisdiction recognizes that a person can kill with justification but also without any evil intent, that jurisdiction is free to define the crime as something less than murder. Not all US states do this; in many, a mental defect or even mental illness will not reduce the seriousness of the offense whatsoever. However, if a US state legislature chooses, a diminished mental state may justify the finding of a lesser crime.

Insanity is a different defense as it completely negates any criminal culpability although the mental health consequence can result in as much confinement time as a murder conviction.

Involuntary manslaughter

Involuntary manslaughter, sometimes called criminally negligent homicide in the United States, gross negligence manslaughter in England and Wales or culpable homicide in Scotland occurs where there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death is due to recklessness or criminal negligence.

Recklessness

Recklessness or willful blindness is defined as a wanton disregard for the known dangers of a particular situation. An example of this would be a defendant throwing a brick off a bridge into vehicular traffic below. There exists no intent to kill; consequently, a resulting death may not be considered murder. However, the conduct is probably reckless, sometimes used interchangeably with criminally negligent, which may subject the principal to prosecution for involuntary manslaughter: the individual was aware of the risk of injury to others and willfully disregarded it.

In many jurisdictions, such as in California, if the unintentional conduct amounts to such gross negligence as to amount to a willful or depraved indifference to human life, the mens rea may be considered to constitute malice. In such a case, the charged offense may be murder, often characterized as second degree murder.

Vehicular or intoxication manslaughter

Vehicular manslaughter is a kind of misdemeanor manslaughter, which holds persons liable for any death that occurs because of criminal negligence or a violation of traffic safety laws. A common use of the vehicular manslaughter laws involves prosecution for a death caused by driving under the influence (determined by excessive blood alcohol content levels set by individual states), although an independent infraction (such as driving with a suspended driver\'s license), or negligence is usually also required.See, e.g., Vehicular Manslaughter in the first degree, N.Y. State Penal Law section 125.13 found at N.Y. State Legislative web site (search for Penal Law § 125.13).

In some U.S. states, such as Texas, Intoxication Manslaughter is a distinctly defined offense. A person commits intoxication manslaughter if he or she operates a motor vehicle in a public place, operates an aircraft, a watercraft, or an amusement ride, or assembles a mobile amusement ride; and is intoxicated and by reason of that intoxication causes the death of another by accident or mistake.Tex. Penal Code § 49.08.

Intoxication manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other similar offenses require a lesser mens rea than other manslaughter offenses. Furthermore, the fact that the defendant is entitled to use the alcohol, controlled substance, drug, dangerous drug, or other substance is not a defense.TEX. PEN. CODE ANN. § 49.10; see also Nelson v. State, 149 S.W.3d 206, 211 (Tex. App.-Fort Worth 2004, no pet.). For example, in Texas, to prove intoxication manslaughter it is not necessary to prove the person was negligent in causing the death of another, nor that they unlawfully used the substance that intoxicated them, but only that they were intoxicated and operated a motor vehicle and someone died as a result. The same rule of law applies in New York for vehicular manslaughter in the second degree.See, Vehicular Manslaughter in the second degree, N.Y. State Penal Law section 125.12 found at N.Y. State Legislative web site (search for Penal Law § 125.12).

Misdemeanor manslaughter

In the United States, this is a lesser version of felony murder and covers a person who causes the death of another while committing a misdemeanor — that is, a violation of law that does not rise to the level of a felony. This may automatically lead to a conviction for the homicide if the misdemeanor involved a law designed to protect human life. Many violations of safety laws are infractions, meaning that a person can be convicted regardless of mens rea.

Assisted suicide

In some states, assisted suicide is punishable as a second degree of manslaughter.See, e.g., Manslaughter in the second degree, N.Y. State Penal Law section 125.15 found at N.Y. State Legislative web site (search for Penal Law § 125.15).

See also

• Culpable homicide
• Imperfect self-defense
• Murder

References

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