Also known as: involuntary manslaughter
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An unintentional killing resulting from the defendant's criminal negligence. Criminal negligence consists of a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would observe in the circumstances, creating a high risk of death or serious bodily harm.
Nestor Navarro, unlicensed and untrained in gas work, agreed to repair a cracked gas line for a homeowner using only tape and scrap tubing. He knew the method was improper. A week later the line leaked and exploded, killing a neighbor. The death resulted from Navarro's criminal negligence.
Nora Nash approved a live forklift stunt for a reality show after receiving a written safety report warning of probable death. She rejected proposals to add barriers or reduce speed. During the broadcast a forklift struck and killed a contestant. The death resulted from Nash's criminal negligence.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Nina Nielsen, a city bus driver, angrily slammed the brakes and jerked the bus forward in violation of a traffic ordinance. A standing passenger fell, struck his head, and died. The death resulted from Nielsen's criminal negligence in operating the bus.
Nigel Nelson conducted unauthorized securities sales sessions in an overcrowded rented room. When confronted by a colleague about the illegal activity, Nelson slapped the colleague's phone away and shoved him into a glass partition that shattered, causing fatal lacerations. The death resulted from Nelson's criminal negligence.
Nicholas Nunez confronted a colleague about unauthorized sales sessions and slapped the colleague's phone from his hand. The shove sent the colleague backward into a glass partition that shattered, causing fatal blood loss. The death resulted from Nunez's criminal negligence in the confrontation.
Nicole Navarro slapped a colleague's phone away and shoved him during a confrontation over illegal sales sessions. The shove propelled the colleague into a glass partition that shattered, causing fatal lacerations. The death resulted from Navarro's criminal negligence during the confrontation.
Negligent manslaughter requires only criminal negligence, a gross deviation from reasonable care creating a high risk of death. Depraved-heart murder demands a higher degree of reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life.
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Yes. Criminal negligence demands a substantially greater deviation from the conduct of a reasonable person than the level of negligence sufficient for civil liability.
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No. Negligent manslaughter requires proof of criminal negligence. An unlawful-act killing during a misdemeanor is analyzed under the separate misdemeanor-manslaughter doctrine.
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Yes. Undertaking a dangerous repair without training or proper materials constitutes criminal negligence when it creates a foreseeable risk of death and proximately causes the killing.
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…the single generic offense of felonious homicide into three distinct punishment categories—murder, voluntary manslaughter, and involuntary manslaughter. Only the first two of these categories require that the homicidal act either be intentional or the result of criminally reckless conduct. See State v. Lafferty, supra , at 670-672…