Manslaughter is defined as killing a person without premeditation or malice aforethought. Malice aforethought means having an evil intent prior to the killing. Like murder, there are different degrees of seriousness of manslaughter: voluntary and involuntary.



Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter is defined in California Penal Code Section 192:

“(a) Voluntary manslaughter: upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion."

Voluntary manslaughter means that while the person had an intention to kill, the killing was provoked, such as during an argument. This is referred to as being in the “heat of passion." Voluntary manslaughter may also be committed during the commission of a felony.

Examples of voluntary manslaughter include:

?Where a guy gets into a drunken fight at a bar and hits someone over the head with a beer bottle, which causes death.

?Where a burglar breaks into a warehouse and encounters a security guard, who he knocks down a flight of stairs, resulting in the death of the guard.

In order to emphasize the difference between murder and manslaughter, if either of the above perpetrators used a gun, then they would have been charged with murder. This is because bringing a deadly weapon is a premeditated act, unlike a spur of the moment act.

Voluntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 3, 6, or 11 years.

Involuntary Manslaughter

Involuntary manslaughter is defined in California Penal Code Section 192:

“(b) Involuntary-in the commission of an unlawful act, not amounting to felony; or in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death, in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection. This subdivision shall not apply to acts committed in the driving of a vehicle."

An example of involuntary manslaughter involves the immediate rage in finding a loved one in bed with another. The killing must occur during the heat of this “rage" before the rage has “cooled." If there is evidence of premeditation and a length of time which would indicate a period where an average person would have had time to cool off, then it would not be charged as involuntary manslaughter, but as murder.

Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years.