Manslaughter and murder are two distinct criminal offenses, though they share similarities, particularly the loss of life. If you are facing criminal charges in Tennessee for a related offense, it is crucial that you work with a skilled legal professional. Reach out to a knowledgeable Memphis violent crime lawyer to start your free case evaluation today.
What is Manslaughter?
Manslaughter is typically defined as the offense of killing a person without malice aforethought. Essentially, the offender does take the victim’s life, but it was not thought out or planned beforehand. Instead, it was impulsive, spontaneous, or done recklessly and without intention.
Voluntary manslaughter is outlined in the Tennessee Criminal Code § 39-13-211. The law states, “Voluntary manslaughter is the intentional or knowing killing of another in a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner.”
This crime involves purposefully killing someone, but without premeditation. The offender did not plan in advance to take the individual’s life and set out to do so. Instead, the offender was driven to kill after being provoked to a point that it would reasonably cause someone to act out of character.
There is also such a thing as involuntary manslaughter, meaning the killing of another person unlawfully but unintentionally. In Tennessee, criminally negligent homicide, reckless homicide, and vehicular homicide are considered different types of involuntary manslaughter. The individual does not purposefully try to kill the victim, but the loss of life is a direct result of their criminal actions.
What is Murder?
There are several degrees of murder defined in Tennessee law. In general, murder is the purposeful or intentional taking of another person’s life. The offender acts with premeditation, meaning they planned it in advance.
First-degree murder is defined as the following, per TN Code § 39-13-202.
- A premeditated and intentional killing of another
- A killing of another committed in the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate any first-degree murder, arson, robbery, burglary, theft, kidnapping, aggravated abuse of an elderly or vulnerable adult, aggravated neglect of an elderly or vulnerable adult, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, or aircraft piracy
- A killing of another committed as the result of the unlawful throwing, placing, or discharging of a destructive device or bomb
- A killing of another in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of an act of terrorism
- A killing of another in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of an aggravated rape, rape, rape of a child, or aggravated rape of a child
Second-degree murder is the knowing killing of another, the killing of another that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, when the drug is the proximate cause of the death of the user, or killing of another by unlawful distribution, delivery, or dispensation of fentanyl or carfentanil.
Understanding the difference between murder and manslaughter is imperative if you’ve been arrested for a related crime. Work with a skilled defense lawyer today.