Manslaughter

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Criminal law
Part of the common law series
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Actus reus  · Causation (law)>Causation  · Concurrence
Mens rea  · Intention (criminal)>Intention (general)
Intention in English law  · Recklessness (criminal)>Recklessness
Willful blindness  · Criminal negligence
Ignorantia juris non excusat
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For country-specific law, see manslaughter in English law. For the Marvel Comics character, see Manslaughter (comics).

Within the law of homicide, manslaughter, also called criminally negligent homicide in the United States or culpable homicide in Scotland, is a less serious offense than murder where one person has killed another.

Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter

Manslaughter is usually broken into two categories:

• Voluntary manslaughter

This arises in cases where the defendant may have an intent to cause death or serious injury, but the potential liability for murder is mitigated by the application of a defense. For example, the defendant may be 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, or the defendant may have diminished capacity.

Involuntary manslaughter

This is where death occurs due to recklessness or criminal negligence with no intention to kill or cause serious injury. In Northern Ireland, Scotland, and the United States, the law differentiates between levels of fault based on the mens rea (Latin for a "guilty mind").

Recklessness

Recklessness or willful blindness 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 for fun, but it lands on a person's head, killing him. Since the intent is not to kill the victim, but simply to drop the brick, the mens rea required for murder does not exist. However, if in dropping the brick, there is a good chance of injuring someone, the person who dropped it would be reckless and this would usually be sufficient to convict of manslaughter.

Recklessness is sufficient mens rea to found a conviction for murder in Victoria.

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: a violation of the law that does not rise to the level of a felony. This may automatically lead to a conviction for the death, if the misdemeanor involved a law designed to protect human life. Many safety laws are infractions, meaning that a person can be convicted regardless of mens rea. Vehicular manslaughter is a kind of misdemeanor manslaughter, which holds persons liable for any death that occurs because of a violation of traffic safety laws.

 

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