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13 Jan 2023

There are three main types of manslaughter. These are voluntary manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter and unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter. If you are accused of any criminal activity, including homicide, whether you are guilty or this is a false accusation it is urgent that you contact us at ABV Solicitors and let us delegate an expert criminal solicitor to your case. Here at our legal firm we have extensive experience in criminal law. You can rest assured knowing that we are recognised as one of the leaders in criminal defence throughout the UK. We have been awarded acknowledgement as one of the best law firms by The Times for 2022. We have extensive knowledge of criminal law and we will be able to put together the best defence for your case.

If you have killed someone but you did not intend to kill them or cause serious bodily harm then this is manslaughter not murder. However the penalty for manslaughter can also be very severe and include a lengthy prison sentence. It is vital that you have the expert legal assistance of our criminal solicitor from the outset to help achieve the best outcome for yourself.

Voluntary manslaughter

As mentioned there are three types of manslaughter. Our solicitor will help you understand each of these more clearly. The first is voluntary manslaughter. This is when you have unlawfully killed someone with the intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm but there is a partial defence. There are two main partial defences that can reduce murder to voluntary manslaughter. These are diminished responsibility and loss of control. This means that your ability to understand the nature of your action, form a rational judgement or exercise self-control was impaired. This could be as a result of numerous medical conditions or psychological disorders.

Involuntary manslaughter

The second type of manslaughter is gross negligence manslaughter. This happens where the death is a result of a grossly negligent, but not an actually unlawful or criminal, act on the part of the defendant. Most frequently encountered examples of this are death following medical treatment or care. The offence can be committed by any healthcare professional who has been grossly negligent. Other examples include death in the workplace or death in custody. It includes a breach of an existing duty of care where there is an obvious risk of death and does in fact cause death.

The third type of manslaughter is unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter. This occurs if you intentionally carry out an unlawful or dangerous act which results in the death of another person. The unlawful act has to be criminal in nature. An example of this is if you commit arson which is an unlawful and dangerous act and causes the death of a person, you will be guilty of manslaughter even if you did not know that someone was in the building that you were setting fire to. If you have the intention to kill or seriously injure then this is murder not manslaughter.

Whichever of these are situations you have found yourself in, or as mentioned if you are falsely accused of murder or manslaughter, you need to speak to our criminal solicitor immediately. We will be with you through every stage of the process to make sure you do not implicate yourself any further and help you achieve the best possible outcome for your case so that we can secure a better future for you.