manslaughter

criminal law
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Key People:
Don King
Roscoe Arbuckle
Related Topics:
homicide

News

Crown drops murder charge, seeks manslaughter conviction in mall stabbing Apr. 17, 2025, 5:25 AM ET (CBC)
How a Brief and Inexplicable NYC Altercation Escalated to Manslaughter Mar. 31, 2025, 2:31 AM ET (New York Times)
Family says ex-police officer got 'slap on the wrist' for taser death of 95yo Mar. 28, 2025, 4:25 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))

manslaughter, in Anglo-American criminal law, a category of criminal homicide that generally carries a lesser penalty than the crime of murder. Different legal systems use different criteria to distinguish the kinds and degrees of unjustified killing. See homicide.