Manslaughter
Posted on Jan 26, 2012 1:11pm PST
In response to manslaughter question:
Generally, you'll see manslaughter as a lesser included offense (let's talk about Intox Manslaugher in another session).
If the facts allow it, you may get a jury instruction on manslaughter if you're charged with murder.
It works like this:
Lets say you're charged with Murder. Your defense is that you didn't INTEND to kill the person, it happend by accidenct/chance/bad luck/ect. This is a valid defense, and can have a powerful effect on the jury.
Instead of a first degree felony, you'll be looking at a second. 2-20 years up to $10,000 fine.
And that's a huge difference when you're looking at 5-99 or life.
Thank you for your questions.
Criminal Defense Lawyer,
J. Julio Vela