Manslaughter

Manslaughter, sometimes called criminally negligent homicide, is a kind of homicide wherein a person causes the death of another through negligence or recklessness (not recognized in Australia) or where a person intentionally kills another but is not liable for murder because he is able to avail himself of a defense, such as insanity or diminished capacity.

Voluntary vs. Involuntary

In the United States, manslaughter is often broken into two categories: involuntary manslaughter and voluntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter requires intent, but is mitigated by the fact that the killer was subjected to adequate provocation to drive an ordinary person to kill. Instances of adequate provocation may include things such as unexpectedly finding a spouse in the arms of their lover, or witnessing an attack against one's child.

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Involuntary manslaughter (which includes negligent manslaughter) is the crime that results from a death that occurs despite a lack of intent to kill. British and American criminal law differentiates between various crimes based on mens rea (criminal intent), and involuntary manslaughter is generally associated with a level of negligent mens rea. While specifics of negligence may vary from one jurisdiction to another, it is generally defined as failure to exercise a reasonable level of precaution given the circumstances. Recklessness is defined as a wanton disregard for the dangers of a particular situation. An example of this would be dropping a brick off a bridge, which landed on a person's head, killing them. Since the intent was not to kill the victim, but simply to drop the brick, the Mens Rea required for murder does not exist. However, in dropping the brick, there was a good chance of them injuring someone, therefore the person who dropped them was reckless.

Related Topics:
British - American - Criminal law - Mens rea - Criminal intent - Negligent - Jurisdiction - Recklessness

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