Free tool · Criminal Law

Is It Murder or Manslaughter?

Homicide is classified by the defendant’s state of mind and the circumstances. A premeditated and deliberate killing is first-degree murder. An intentional killing without premeditation, or one done with intent to cause serious harm or with extreme indifference to life, is second-degree murder. A death during an inherently dangerous felony is felony murder. A killing in the heat of passion after adequate provocation, with no time to cool off, is voluntary manslaughter. A death caused by recklessness or criminal negligence is involuntary manslaughter. Statutes differ by state: enter the facts to see how the common-law categories sort them.

Tool · Homicide Classifier

What was the defendant’s state of mind towards the death?

The defendant’s act caused a deathPremeditated and deliberate (or killing by poison, lying in wait or torture)The death occurred during a felony…an inherently dangerous felony that is independent of the killing (such as robbery, burglary, arson)Adequate provocation (enough to make a reasonable person lose self-control)The defendant actually acted in the heat of passionEnough time passed for a reasonable person to cool offSelf-defence or another justification applies

Second-degree murder

There was an intent to kill, without premeditation.

Malice aforethought is shown by intent to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm. Without premeditation and deliberation, the murder is of the second degree.

Also consider: Voluntary manslaughter if provocation is established; First-degree murder if premeditation is proved.

Statutes differ by state. Many states use different degrees, some have no ‘voluntary manslaughter’ label, and the Model Penal Code uses murder, manslaughter and negligent homicide with different tests. A teaching aid, not a prediction.

Takes the facts of a killing and sorts it through the common-law categories (first- and second-degree murder, felony murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter) in the order that a student reasons. States use different statutes, degrees and names, and the Model Penal Code differs again. A teaching aid, not a prediction of how a prosecutor or court would treat real facts, and not legal advice. Runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent.

How to use it

Say what the defendant’s state of mind towards the death was.
Tick premeditation, any felony, and any provocation, heat of passion and cooling-off time.
Tick self-defence if a justification applies.
Read the category, the reasoning and the alternatives.

Common questions

What is the difference between murder and manslaughter?

Murder requires malice aforethought (intent to kill, intent to cause serious harm, extreme indifference to life or a dangerous felony). Manslaughter is an unlawful killing without malice, because of provocation (voluntary) or recklessness or criminal negligence (involuntary).

What is felony murder?

A killing committed during or in furtherance of an inherently dangerous felony such as robbery, burglary, arson or rape is murder, even if the death was not intended. Many states limit it.

What is adequate provocation?

Provocation that would cause a reasonable person to lose self-control, such as a serious assault or finding a spouse in the act of adultery in some traditional rules, with no cooling-off period and a causal link to the killing.

Learn the law behind the tool

This tool is part of our Criminal Law course, with lectures, concept maps, flashcards, interactive exercises and a capstone case. Criminal Law: Homicide.

More free law tools

General information, simplified, mainly on American law, not legal advice. States and countries differ, and real cases turn on facts that a tool cannot capture.