Law on Involuntary Manslaughter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7750 words

Law on Involuntary Manslaughter - Essay Example Whereas, an act of involuntary manslaughter is identified as the one that originate from the failure to perform a legal duty expressly required to safeguard human life, from the commission of an unlawful act not constituting a felony, or from the commission of a lawful act in a negligent or improper manner. (Webster's online dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ involuntary%20manslaughter, accessed on 11th April, 2009) According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, manslaughter is defined as: 'in Anglo-American criminal law, a category of criminal homicide that generally carries a lesser penalty than the crime of murder. Different legal systems use different criteria to distinguish the kinds and degrees of unjustified killing'. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Manslaughter, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/362828/ manslaughter, accessed on 11th April, 2009) In legal context, manslaughter is considered as the unlawful killing of a human being without malice or premeditation, expressed or implied; distinguished from murder, which requires malicious intent. The distinction between manslaughter and murder can be identified as, in the former case, though the act which caused the death is unlawful, either expressed or implied, it is termed as manslaughter, or if committed otherwise, it is termed as murder. Manslaughter also differs from murder because there can be no time for premeditation or preplanning. Manslaughter is voluntary, when it happens upon a sudden heat; or involuntary, when it takes place in the commissioning of some unlawful act. The act of manslaughter becomes voluntary manslaughter if it happens that the defendant had an intention to inflict death or serious injury. But it depends upon the potential liability of the defendant with regard to the circumstances by which the act is committed in relation to the state of mind while the act is done. Provocation or heat of the moment qualifies this. Suppose a husband happens to see his wife sharing the bed with her lover, and in sudden provocation and losing control he commits the killing of his wife, it is termed as manslaughter. (http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/m013.htm, accessed on 11th April, 2009). Precisely, involuntary manslaughter can be identified as an unintentional killing derived out of recklessness or from an act of illegal nature which amounts to misdemeanor. It is a criminally negligent homicide committed with no intention to do it. The decision on Scarlett [1993] 4 All ER 629 illustrates the above distinction. 1. Scarlett [1993] 4 All ER 629 Facts of the Case: The appellant, Mr. John Scarlett, being the owner of Queen's Road Tavern public house in Halifax, was about to close down his tavern on 12th June, 1991 after the day's business, when the deceased, Mr. Larkin approached the appellant for getting service. But the appellant denied service to him. There were some heated arguments over this, and the appellant pushed the deceased towards the doors. They struggled against each other and the only reliable witnesses to this described the appellant's act as 'bundling the