Albeit a serious offence manslaughter is seen as less serious than murder. In it’s simplest terms a person is guilty of manslaughter if they have caused the unlawful killing of another, in much the same way as murder but importantly did not or could not form the intention that the deceased should die or have cause them grievous bodily harm.
It should be noted that even as an offence in it’s own right manslaughter can also be added to a murder indictment as an alternative verdict for the jury to consider when they retire to consider their verdict.
There are 2 types of manslaughter those being voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
Voluntary manslaughter applies where a partial defence is raised to an allegation of murder. The partial defences are diminished responsibility, loss of control and killing arising from a suicide pact.
Involuntary manslaughter is where a person is killed but the accused did not intend for the deceased to die or to cause them grievous bodily harm.
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