Voluntary Manslaughter
Criminal Law: Crimes Against the Person: Manslaughter Voluntary Manslaughter
Introduction to Voluntary Manslaughter
Voluntary manslaughter generally involves an intentional killing of a human being by an enraged person under circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to become uncontrollably angry. For example, an intentional killing might be considered voluntary manslaughter (rather than murder) if it is committed in the heat of passion caused by adequate provocation. A common provocation is the discovery of the killer’s spouse in the act of having sex with another. If the provocation would arouse extreme rage in a reasonable person, but the killer was not, in fact, enraged when the killing occurred, the killer is guilty of murder rather than voluntary manslaughter.” (1)
Resources
Notes and References
- Information about Voluntary Manslaughter in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
Guide to Voluntary Manslaughter
In this Section
Crimes Against the Person (including Murder, Manslaughter, Voluntary Manslaughter, Involuntary Manslaughter, Assault and Battery, Forcible and Statutory Rape and Kidnapping)