California Penal Code sections 191 & 192
The law on the crime of Voluntary Manslaughter (usually simplified to "Manslaughter" without the word "Voluntary") is found at California Penal Code section 192(a).
The definition of voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing that would otherwise be considered murder but is reduced due to some mitigating factor. The mitigating factors in California include imperfect self-defense, heat of passion, and diminished capacity.
As stated, voluntary manslaughter means that the defendantintended to kill another person. When a defendant intentionally kills another person without legal justification, such as self-defense, the defendant is charged with murder; however, where the defendant killed another person but did so during one of the four mitigating factors listed above, the defendant may have his or her murder charged reduced to the charged of involuntary manslaughter.
If found guilty of voluntary manslaughter the defendant could face up to eleven years in prison. Voluntary manslaughter is considered a strike in California under California's Three Strike Law.
Imperfect self-defense:
Imperfect self-defense is a term that basically means thatwhile the defendant killed another person he or she truly believed that he or she needed to act in self defense, but in fact, it would be unreasonable to believe, under the circumstances at the time of the killing, that the defendant needed to act in self-defense.
To have the defendant's murder charge reduced to manslaughter with an imperfect self-defense claim the defendant would have to truly believe that he or she needed to kill another person to stop the other person from killing the defendant. This is known as the subjective belief. If the average person believed that the defendant would have needed to kill the victim in order to save his own life (the life of the defendant) then this would simply be a self-defense case. But imperfect in imperfect self-defense means that the average person would not have believed that that he or she (the average person) would have needed to kill the victim in order to save their life. This is known as the objective belief. Of course, if the defendant did not have the subjective belief that he or she needed to kill another person to save the defendant's life then this is simply charged as murder without any mitigating factor that would reduce the murder charged to voluntary manslaughter.
Note: Threat of future harm is never sufficient to reduce a murder charge to a voluntary manslaughter charge by way of imperfect self-defense. For example, if the defendant learns that the victim was planning to kill the defendant's wife in the future it would not be a defense to murder charges, or manslaughter charges, to defend on the grounds that the victim was going to kill the defendant's wife sometime in the future. There must be a danger of imminent death or great bodily injury for imperfect self-defense to apply.
Heat of Passion Defense:
Another mitigating factor that may reduce murder charges to voluntary manslaughter charges is known as the heat of passion defense. Basically, an intentional killing that occurs during the defendant's heat of passion will likely be filed as murder but then reduced to voluntary manslaughter.
Heat of passion occurs where the defendant intentionally kills another person because the victim did something that drove the defendant to kill the victim during an uncontrolled rage or passion. For example, if the defendant comes home to find his wife in bed with another man and the defendant immediately kills the wife or the other man, then the defendant may be found to have killed during the heat of passion, and thereby have his murder charges reduced to manslaughter.
Heat of passion defense requires that the defendant subjectively and objectively rose to the level of anger during a heat of passion event. This means that the defendant must have actually been so enraged that he could almost not control himself during the killing. In addition, the event that lead to the killing must have enraged that average person to point of almost not being able to controll themselves during the killing.
Heat of passion defense only works if the killing is immediately after discovery of the event that lead to the killing of another person. In other words, if the defendant has sufficient time to cool off from the discovery of the event that gave the defendant the heat of passion then the defense does not work. Also, the defendant must have killed the person that was the subject of the heat of passion. In other words, the defendant can not use the heat of passion defense if he finds out his wife is cheating on him and thereafter goes and kills a person not associated in any way to his wife or the person with whom she was cheating.
Diminished Capacity:
When the defendant is operating under a diminished capacity during the intentional killing of another person then the defendant may have his murder charges reduced to voluntary manslaughter charges.
Diminished capacity means that there is some internal or external mental ingredient that did not allow the defendant to appreciate the wrongfulness of the act of killing another person. If the defendant has severe mental or cognitive impairment such that the defendant could not appreciate the very nature of the act of killing, or appreciate the difference between right and wrong, the defendant may have a defense of insanity (Defense of insanity is a complete defense to the crime of intentional murder and voluntary manslaughter); however, diminished capacity is not the equivalent of insanity in California. Diminished capacity does not rise to the level of an insanity defense but rather demonstrates that the defendant operated under some mental laboring such that the killing should be reduced from murder to manslaughter.
The law on the crime of involuntary manslaughter is found at California Penal Code section 192(b). The definition ofInvoluntary manslaughter is the unintentional killing of another human being due to gross negligent conduct of the defendant.
If found guilty of involuntary manslaughter the defendant may face up to four years in state prison. In addition, involuntary manslaughter is considered a strike under California Three Strikes Law.
The negligence standard for involuntary manslaughter charges is gross negligence, which is a higher type of negligence than simple negligence but not as high assubjective recklessness.
If the defendant is found to have killed someone while acting with subjective recklessness, meaning that he or she knew how dangerous to human life his or her conduct was at the time he or she unintentionally killed another person, then the defendant may be charged with murder under a theory known as malignant hear murder.
The difference between murder and iinvoluntary manslaughter depends on whether the person was aware of the risk to life that his or her actions created and consciously disregarded that risk. An unlawful killing caused by a willful act done with full knowledge and awareness that the person is endangering the life of another, and done n conscious disregard of that risk, is murder. An unlawful killing resulting from a willful act committed without intent to kill and without conscious disregard of the risk to human life, but never the less committed while the defendant acted with gross negligence, is invlountary manslaughter.
For example, if a defendant is driving 100MPH on the freeway and kills another person in a car crash as a result of the defendant's reckless driving, the defendant may be charged with iinvoluntary manslaughter. This is because the defendant did not intend to kill another person; however, whether or not driving 100MPH on the freeway is gross negligence or subjective reckless conduct is probably a close call. If the defendant acted with subjective reckless conduct and indifferent to the risk for loss of human life then the defendant will probably be charged with murder under a malignant heart theory as opposed to iinvoluntary manslaughter.
California Vehicular Manslaughter Law & Defense The laws on the crime of Vehicular Manslaughter is found 191.5 & 192(c). Vehicular manslaughter is defined as the unintentional killing of another person while the defendant was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol or while the defendant was driving in a grossly negligent manner.
There are several varieties of vehicular manslaughter criminal charges in California. California Penal Code section 191.5 deals with vehicular manslaughter charges where the defendant is found to be intoxicated on drugs or alcohol while driving and where the intoxication influenced the defendant's driving (DUI).
If the defendant is found to have killed another person with his or her vehicle while the defendant is under the influence (DUI) then the amount of prison time the defendant faces depends on whether the defendant was grossly negligent (in addition to being under the influence) and whether or not the defendant has a history of DUI offense. For example, where the defendant is charged with killing another person while driving and while intoxicated and with a prior DUI conviction, the defendant may face up to life in prison under PC 191.5(c). This is also known as a "Watson Murder."
Some vehicular manslaughter charges, such as PC 191.5(b), DUI related killing without gross negligence, may be charged as a misdemeanor.
To learn more about the California crimes of voluntary manslaughter, iinvoluntary manslaughter, and vehicle manslaughter, including defenses to these crimes, contact criminal defense attorney Christopher Dorado today.
Attorney Dorado dedicates 100% of his law practice to criminal defense. He has successfully represented hundreds of defendants charged with serious crimes. In addition, attorney Dorado has a proven successful trial record. There is no charge to speak to one of our experienced criminal defense attorneys today and our office is available to assist you seven days a week. Call today!!
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