In criminal law, a manslaughter charge is an allegation, usually brought by a prosecutor’s office, that a defendant has unjustifiably killed another human being. Manslaughter is a separate and distinct crime from murder. Typically, a killing that amounts to a manslaughter offense is missing several key elements of a murder charge: deliberation, premeditation, and malice. A manslaughter charge is a less serious accusation than a murder charge, and it usually results in a lighter prison sentence for a convicted defendant.
Many jurisdictions distinguish between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, depending on whether or not the defendant intended to kill or cause the victim bodily harm at the time that the killing took place. Generally, voluntary manslaughter occurs when a defendant has intentionally killed another person but certain mitigating factors are present. For instance, it may happen if a defendant has been provoked into an uncontrollable rage or anger and subsequently kills another person in the heat of passion. To illustrate, if a defendant catches his spouse in bed with another man and kills that man on the spot, the jury may find that, even though the killing was intentional, it was done in the heat of passion. This could result in the defendant being convicted of voluntary manslaughter instead of murder.
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