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Page 4 of 24 |
What is involuntary manslaughter? |
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Involuntary manslaughter generally occurs in only two cases. The first is when someone is killed due to criminal negligence. That is, they are killed accidentally when someone else behaves negligently. If a person who is committing the crime of reckless driving or driving under the influence of alcohol kills someone in an accident, this would be criminal negligence.
The second form of involuntary manslaughter is when someone is killed during the commission of another crime, where the intent was not to cause bodily injury or death. This is often called misdemeanor manslaughter. So if someone steals a small object and someone else falls down a flight of stairs trying to chase him, that might be misdemeanor manslaughter, even though the death was an accident and not intended by the thief. The death would not have happened if the thief had not committed the crime. If 2 people grab someone and tie him up to get even for something and he dies of a heart attack, that might also be involuntary manslaughter.
(Reviewed 11.5.08)
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