What is Manslaughter?
{{unsourced|date=December 2018}} '''Manslaughter''' is a type of [[homicide]], the [[crime]] of [[kill]]ing a person. When a person is killed, [[lawyers]] look at the reasons and [[Motivation|motives]] why this person was killed. If the death of a person is not on purpose, but the killer did something that resulted in the death of a person, this is usually called manslaughter. It is less serious than if a person were killed on purpose (sometimes with planning involved), which is called [[murder]]. Killing someone in [[self-defence]] may be manslaughter. Depending on the circumstances, killing in self-defence may be no crime at all. [[Negligent homicide]] is an even lesser crime. Manslaughter is a relatively new legal concept. It was first mentioned in an English [[statute]] in 1547, but was interpreted very loosely and not earnestly enforced, instead usually charging with murder. Very few countries had manslaughter on their books until the latter half of the 20th century. No jurisdiction in the United States had manslaughter on its books until the 20th century. England and the United States were the first two countries to introduce manslaughter into their laws. ==Laws== *[http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/_/dict.aspx?rd=1&word=manslaughter Legal dictionary] {{Stub}} [[Category:Manslaughter| ]]