Defending Manslaughter And Homicide Cases In Cobb County And In The Atlanta-Metropolitan Area
Manslaughter
What Is The Difference Between Voluntary Manslaughter And Murder?
- in the commission of an unlawful act, causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so by the commission of an unlawful act other than a felony; or
- in the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner, causes the death of another human being without any intention to do so, by the commission of a lawful act in an unlawful manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
Sentencing Range
In the first instance, upon conviction thereof, that person shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years.
In the second instance, upon conviction thereof, that person shall be punished as for a misdemeanor.
What Is The Easiest Way To Think About This Crime?
Involuntary manslaughter merely requires the intent to do the act from which death results, but does not require the intent to kill. Put another way, there can be no involuntary manslaughter when a person's intention is to kill another.
Homicide
- A person convicted of the offense of murder shall be punished by death, by imprisonment for life without parole, or by imprisonment for life.
- A person convicted of the offense of murder in the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than ten nor more than 30 years.
What Is 'Malice?' Is It The Same Thing As 'Premeditation?'
No. Under Georgia law, premeditation is not a specific element of malice murder. In fact, malice need not be formed until immediately prior to the slaying.
There have been several cases that have defined the term "malice." Simply put, the legal definition of malice is the intent to kill in the absence of provocation. Here are how Georgia courts have defined the term over time:
Legal malice is an unlawful intention to kill without justification or mitigation, and is not ill will or hatred. Bailey v. State, 70 Ga. 617 (1883).
Malice is wickedness of purpose; a spiteful or malevolent design against another; a settled purpose to injure or destroy another. Patterson v. State, 85 Ga. 131 (1890).
Legal malice is the intent unlawfully to take human life in cases which the law neither mitigates nor justifies. Milton v. State, 245 Ga. 20 (1980).
Malice means the intent to take life without legal justification, excuse, or mitigation. Gatliff v. State, 90 Ga. App. 869 (1954).
Malice is the unlawful, deliberate intention to kill a human being without excuse, justification, or mitigation. It is a state of mind and is a premeditated, deliberate intention and desire and design to unlawfully kill another human being. Mason v. Balkcom, 487 F. Supp. 554 (1980).
Malice element, which distinguishes murder from the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter, means simply the intent to kill in the absence of provocation. McCleskey v. Zant, 580 F. Supp. 338 (1984).
Express Malice vs. Implied Malice
Malice can be either express or implied. Express malice is the deliberate intention unlawfully to take a life, manifested by external circumstances; malice could be implied where no considerable provocation appeared and the circumstances of the killing showed an abandoned and malignant heart.
The Legal Requirement of Intent - Malice Aforethought
Rather than affixing the terms of “specific intent” or “purpose” with respect to the legal intent required to sustain a charge of murder, Georgia has opted for the common-law requirement of malice aforethought, which may be either express or implied. Accordingly, evidence which disproves “purpose” or “desire,” such as evidence of mental deficiency, does not necessarily disprove malice aforethought.
Malice aforethought simply means a person's intent to kill, which is an essential element of the crime of murder.