Manslaughter

The wisdom of the Internet says "you can't have 'manslaughter' without 'laughter', but being charged with such a serious crime isn't funny. 

Being charged with and convicted of manslaughter labels you as a killer, even though you never intended to kill anyone. Having a criminal record for manslaughter can result in years of jail time, thousands and thousands of dollars in fines, disruption of your life, and makes finding employment prohibitively difficult, not to mention the social stigma attached to such a label.

Like murder, manslaughter is a type of homicide; however manslaughter is a less serious crime, because it lacks the intent that is required for a murder conviction. Manslaughter differs from murder in that it is killing without malice or premeditation. The crime of manslaughter is broken down into two types in Nevada: voluntary and involuntary.

VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

Voluntary manslaughter in Nevada is when a killing is done in the heat of passion. 

"I'll scramble you! You'll be an omelette when I'm through with you!"

According to the definition in Nevada statutes, voluntary manslaughter is when there is “a serious and highly provoking injury inflicted upon the person killing, sufficient to excite an irresistible passion in a reasonable person, or an attempt by the person killed to commit a serious personal injury on the person killing.”

An example is when a husband walks into his home and finds his wife in flagrante delicto, (Latin makes finding your significant other in bed with someone else sound so fancy!), and in a state of shock and fury and blind rage he kills them both immediately. The maximum prison term for voluntary manslaughter is ten years.

Involuntary Manslaughter

Involuntary manslaughter in Nevada is an unintentional killing done in the course of breaking the law, for example, doing this...

If this is you, you don't have the intent to kill someone, you're just an asshole.

The maximum prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter is four years. Is any text message really so important that you're willing to risk trading four years in prison for it?

Vehicular manslaughter, the killing of a human being by means of a motor vehicle without malice or deliberation, is a type of involuntary manslaughter and is often imposed upon drunk or impaired drivers who cause an accident and kill someone else. 

As I've said over and over again in this blog, sometimes good people just make bad decisions. Nobody is perfect 100% of the time. If you or a loved one may be charged in a situation like this, all hope is not lost. Call my office today at 702-435-2121. There are options for your legal defense. 

Blog by Louis C. Schneider, Attorney at Law.