Voluntary manslaughter involves killings committed during a sudden fight or in the heat of passion.
Television crime shows, books and other forms of pop culture focused on the law have led many of us to gain some level of knowledge on the legal system and police procedure. Yet the details of the law are often a mystery, particularly when it comes to how and why certain crimes are charged. This is often try when it comes to crimes like murder.
Murder is used to describe a range of crimes that involve one person killing another person. But in California, there are specific charges that are brought based on how exactly that killing occurred. For example, voluntary manslaughter charges are typically brought when a person kills someone during a sudden fight or argument or in the heat of passion. The classic case of voluntary manslaughter is when a man comes home to find his wife in bed with another man, and kills his wife’s lover “in the heat of passion.” As an experienced Riverside criminal defense attorney will tell you, voluntary manslaughter cases are rarely brought separately. Instead, these charges are usually a result of a plea bargain or agreement when the defendant in a criminal case admits to killing another person but seeks to have the charge reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
If a charge is reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter, the potential benefits are significant. While both are felony charges, a murder charge carries with it a potential life sentence or even execution. In contrast, voluntary manslaughter has a maximum penalty of 11 years imprisonment. With a skilled Riverside criminal defense attorney representing you, you may be able to have your murder charge reduced to voluntary manslaughter, depending on the facts of the case.
Generally, if you intentionally kill another person without a legal excuse or act with a conscious disregard for human life, you can be charged with either murder or voluntary manslaughter under California law. The major difference between the two charges is whether you acted with what is known as “malice aforethought.” This term essentially means that you acted with an intent to kill or a wanton disregard for human life. If you acted during a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion, then you could not have acted with malice aforethought — which means that you committed voluntary manslaughter, and not murder. To act during a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion means that you were provoked, and as a result of being provoked, you acted rashly and under the influence of intense emotion that obscured your reasoning or judgment. Finally, the provocation would have caused the average person to act rashly and without due deliberation.
Having a charge reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter is a goal for many people accused of killing another person. A skilled Riverside criminal defense attorney can work with you to determine if this is possible based on the facts of your particular case and the way that judges have applied the law regarding voluntary manslaughter in California.
If you have been charged with a crime in Riverside or the surrounding areas, contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com. We will aggressively defend your rights and your freedom!
