Involuntary Manslaughter And Reckless Homicide
| Involuntary manslaughter is the act of killing a person unintentionally. |
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If you kill someone unintentionally, it will not be considered a murder; instead it will be viewed as involuntary manslaughter.
The difference between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter is the absence of intent. In most states in the US, involuntary manslaughter occurs because of not being careful while performing a legal act or while committing an act that is unlawful but not felonious.
Many states in the United States do not really define involuntary manslaughter and if they define it, the definition is quite vague in terms of common law. Some states describe the amount of negligence that is required to make the killing a manslaughter. They use terms like criminal negligence, gross negligence and culpable negligence. The only thing that is clear is that manslaughter requires more negligence that a usual civil case.
On the other hand, there are states that use terms like reckless or wanton to show the amount of negligence required to commit an involuntary manslaughter. This is where reckless homicide comes in. Reckless homicide is killing a person using a reckless act. In some states, involuntary manslaughter using a motor vehicle is deemed as reckless homicide. Laws pertaining to reckless homicide vary from one state to another.
Reckless homicide is different from involuntary manslaughter because a person acts recklessly but is aware of risks involved. This means that in reckless homicide, the person kills another person after acting intentionally or knowingly; the person is aware of the nature of risk but disregards it. Therefore, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be termed as reckless homicide because the driver knows it is not safe.
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