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Manslaughter is a term incommon law forhomicide considered lessculpable thanmurder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancientAthenian lawmakerDraco in the 7th century BC.[1]
The definition of manslaughter differs among legaljurisdictions.
In instances of voluntary manslaughter, the offender has intent to kill or seriously harm, but acted "in the moment" and under circumstances that could cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed.[2] Mitigating circumstances, such as when the defendant kills only with an intent to cause serious bodily harm, mitigate culpability.[3] In some jurisdictions, voluntary manslaughter is alesser included offense of murder. The traditional mitigating factor wasprovocation; however, others have been added in various jurisdictions.
The most common type of voluntary manslaughter occurs when a defendant is provoked to commit homicide. This is sometimes described as acrime of passion.[4] In most cases, the provocation must induce rage or anger in the defendant, although some cases have held that fright, terror, or desperation also suffice.[5]
Assisted suicide is suicide committed with the aid of another person, sometimes a physician.
In some places, including parts of the United States,[6] assisted suicide is punishable as manslaughter. In other countries, such as Switzerland[7] and Canada,[8] and in some U.S. states,[6] assisted suicide is legal as long as legal safeguards are observed.
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Involuntary manslaughter is the killing of a human being without theintent of doing so, either expressed or implied. It is distinguished from voluntary manslaughter by the absence of intention. It is normally divided into two categories, constructive manslaughter and criminally negligent manslaughter. For example, a person may throw a rock and kill someone. There was no intent to kill, but a life was still taken.
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Constructive manslaughter is also referred to as "unlawful act" manslaughter.[9] It is based on the doctrine of constructive malice, whereby the malicious intent inherent in the commission of a crime is considered to apply to the consequences of that crime. It occurs when someone kills, without intent, in the course of committing an unlawful act. The malice involved in the crime is transferred to the killing, resulting in a charge of manslaughter.
For example, a person who fails to stop at a red traffic light while driving a vehicle and hits someone crossing the street could be found to intend or be reckless as to assault or criminal damage (seeDPP v Newbury[10]). There is no intent to kill, and a resulting death would not be considered murder, but would be considered involuntary manslaughter. The accused's responsibility for causing death is constructed from the fault in committing what might have been a minor criminal act. Reckless driving or reckless handling of a potentially lethal weapon may result in a death that is deemed manslaughter. TheDPP v Newbury case had redefined the meaning of murder in the Australian constitution, and reformed in order to include amens rea assessment.
Involuntary manslaughter may be distinguished from accidental death. A person who is driving carefully, but whose car nevertheless hits a child darting out into the street, has not committed manslaughter. A person who pushes off an aggressive intoxicated person, who then falls and dies, has probably not committed manslaughter, although in some jurisdictions it may depend on whether "excessive force" was used or other factors.
As manslaughter is not defined by legislation in Australia, common law decisions provide the basis for determining whether an act resulting in death amounts to manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act.[11] To be found guilty of manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act, the accused must be shown to have committed an unlawful act which is contrary to the criminal law,[12] and that a reasonable person in the position of the accused would have known that by their act, they were exposing the victim to an "appreciable risk of serious injury".[13]
Criminally negligent manslaughter is variously referred to ascriminally negligent homicide in theUnited States, andgross negligence manslaughter inEngland and Wales. InScotland and someCommonwealth of Nations jurisdictions the offence ofculpable homicide might apply.
It occurs where death results from seriousnegligence, or, in some jurisdictions, seriousrecklessness. A high degree of negligence is required to warrant criminal liability.[14] A related concept is that ofwillful blindness, which is where a defendant intentionally puts themselves in a position where they will be unaware of facts which would render them liable.
Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs where there is an omission to act when there is a duty to do so, or a failure to perform a duty owed, which leads to a death. The existence of the duty is essential because the law does not impose criminal liability for a failure to act unless a specific duty is owed to the victim. It is most common in the case of professionals who are grossly negligent in the course of their employment. An example is where a doctor fails to notice a patient's oxygen supply has disconnected and the patient dies (R v Adomako andR v Perreau).[15] Another example could be leaving a child locked in a car on a hot day.[16]
In some jurisdictions, such as some U.S. States,[17][18][19][20] there exists the specific crime ofvehicular orintoxication manslaughter. An equivalent in Canada iscausing death by criminal negligence[21] under theCriminal Code, punishable by a maximum penalty oflife imprisonment.
On themens rea, or state of mind, or the circumstances under which the killing occurred (mitigating factors), manslaughter is usually broken down into two distinct categories:voluntary manslaughter andinvoluntary manslaughter.[22] However, this is not the case in all jurisdictions, such as the U.S. state of Florida.[23]
In some jurisdictions,[24] such as the U.K.,[25] Canada,[26][27] and some Australian states,[28]"adequate provocation" may be a partial defense to a charge of murder, which, if accepted by the jury, would convert what might otherwise have been a murder charge into manslaughter.
InAustralia, specificallyNew South Wales, manslaughter is referred to, however not defined, in theCrimes Act 1900 (NSW).[29] Manslaughter in theAustralian legal system refers to the unlawfulkilling of a human being considered by law to be less blameworthy thanmurder.[30]
Manslaughter exists in two forms in New South Wales: Voluntary or Involuntary Manslaughter. In New South Wales, in cases of voluntary manslaughter, both theactus reus (literallyguilty act) andmens rea (literallyguilty mind) for murder are proven but the defendant has a partial defence, such as extreme provocation or diminished responsibility.[31][11]: [51]–[65] Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant possesses the requisitemens rea for the offence, and the elements of homicide are present and can be proven, but there are mitigating circumstances that reduce the defendant's culpability.[30][32] In cases of involuntary manslaughter, theactus reus for murder is present but there is insufficientmens rea to establish such a charge. Involuntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant kills a victim without intending for them to die.[33]
InVictoria, manslaughter is a statutory offence defined in and punishable under theCrimes Act 1958 (Vic).[34] Victoria also has occupational health and safety laws defining workplace manslaughter as negligent conduct by an employer which breaches defined duties and causes the death of a person who was owed those duties.[35] Similar workplace manslaughter legislation exists in theAustralian Capital Territory,Queensland and theNorthern Territory.[36]
There are two categories of involuntary manslaughter at common law: manslaughter by unlawful and dangerous act and manslaughter by criminal negligence. The authority for theactus reus andmens rea of involuntary manslaughter by an unlawful and dangerous act is the High Court of Australia case ofWilson v R.[37] This case determined that the act that caused the death must breach the criminal law and that the act must carry an appreciable risk of serious injury (actus reus). Regarding themens rea, the court held that the accused must intend to commit the unlawful act and that a reasonable person in the position of the accused would have realised or recognised that the act carried an appreciable risk of serious injury. Manslaughter by criminal negligence, on the other hand, finds its authority in the Victorian case ofNydam v R,[38] confirmed by the High Court of Australia inR v Lavender[14] andBurns v R.[39] InNydam v R,[38] the Court described the offence at [445] in the following terms:
In order to establish manslaughter by criminal negligence, it is sufficient if the prosecution shows that the act which caused the death was done by the accused consciously and voluntarily, without any intention of causing death or grievous bodily harm but in circumstances which involved such a great falling short of the standard of care which a reasonable man would have exercised and which involved such a high risk that death or grievous bodily harm would follow that the doing of the act merited criminal punishment.[38]
Canadian law distinguishes between justifiable (e.g., self-defence), accidental, and culpable homicide. If a death is deemed a culpable homicide, it generally falls under one of four categories (first-degree murder, second-degree murder, manslaughter, and infanticide).[40]
Canadian law defines manslaughter as "a homicide committed without the intention to cause death, although there may have been an intention to cause harm".[citation needed] There are two broad categories of manslaughter: unlawful act, and criminal negligence.
Unlawful act is when a person commits a crime that unintentionally results in the death of another person.[41]
Criminal negligence is when the homicide was the result of an act that showed wanton or reckless disregard for the lives of others.[42]
InEnglish law, manslaughter is a less serious offence thanmurder. InEngland and Wales, the usual practice is to prefer a charge of murder, with thejudge or defence able to introduce manslaughter as an option (seelesser included offence). Thejury then decides whether thedefendant is guilty or not guilty of either murder or manslaughter. Manslaughter may be either voluntary or involuntary, depending on whether the accused has the requiredmens rea for murder.
TheHomicide Act 1957 andCoroners and Justice Act 2009 are relevant acts.
Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant avails themself of two statutory defences described in the Homicide Act 1957 (diminished responsibility and a suicide pact; provocation was a third but this was replaced by loss of control in 2010).
Involuntary manslaughter occurs when the agent has no intention (mens rea) of committing murder but caused the death of another throughrecklessness orcriminal negligence. The crime of involuntary manslaughter can be sub-divided into two main categories; constructive manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter.
Manslaughter is a crime in theUnited States. Definitions can vary among jurisdictions, but the U.S. follows the general principle that manslaughter involves causing the death of another person in a manner lessculpable thanmurder, and observes the distinction between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
Manslaughter is a crime in Japan under the title of "injury causing death". It is defined as "causing another person to suffer injury resulting in death". The minimum penalty for manslaughter is three years, with ade facto maximum of life in prison since no maximum is specified.[43]
Somecivil law jurisdictions, such as theFrench criminal code,[44] use murder (intentional homicide)[45][46][47] or manslaughter (culpable homicide),[48][49][50] and a Felony-Murder (homicidepraeter-intentionnel).[51][52][53] Italian criminal law[54] also provides for murder (intentional homicide, art. 575 c.p.),[55][56] Felony-Murder (homicide "preterintenzionale" art. 584 c.p.)[57][58] and manslaughter (homicide "colposo" art. 589 c.p.):[59][60]
A legal distinction between intentional and unintentional homicide was introduced in Athenian law in 409 BC,[61] when the legal code ofDraco indicated that intentional homicide (hekousios phonos orphonos ek pronoias) was punishable by death. The language is ambiguous as to unintentional homicide (akousios phonos), but it may have been punishable by exile.[62][63] However, academic David D Phillips says that these categories "do not correspond to the common-law categories of murder and manslaughter either in their original significance or in their present definitions", because under Athenian law intentional homicide would include both murder and voluntary manslaughter.[63]
Anglo-Saxon law recognised particular degrees of homicide, with the worst beingforsteall (killing by ambush).[64]Murdra was a separate type of aggravated (secret) homicide under Anglo-Saxon law;William the Conqueror defined it narrowly as a fine that would be charged on ahundred following the slaying of a foreigner (originally a Norman, but intermarriage would end the distinction between Normans and English by the 13th century).[64] By 1348, the association betweenmurdrum andmalice aforethought emerged.[64]
"Manslaughter" as a general term for homicide was in use in medieval England by the late 1200s, during which time a distinction was forming between homicide committed in necessary self-defence (pardoned without culpability) and homicide committed by accident (pardoned but with moral blame).[64] From 1390, homicide in necessary self-defence or by misadventure became "pardons of course", meaning that the Chancery would issue them by default.[64] Homicide in necessary self-defence would later be acquitted, rather than pardoned.[64] The use of "manslaughter" to cover homicides other than murder emerged by 1547, in a statute.[64]Edward Coke confirms this distinction inThe Third Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England, which remains "the authoritative starting point for any examination of the law of homicide" in theUnited Kingdom and othercommon law countries.[65]
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Note: Crimes vary byjurisdiction. Not all types are listed here. | ||
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| Against animals | ||
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