
Originally Posted by
Methais
Anyway, do you believe Baldwin is guilty of manslaughter?
That is the question, now that the unconstitutional part of the charge against Badlwin appears to be on its way to being thrown out of court. Below is the statute for involuntary manslaughter. I highlighted the parts that I think are relevant..
30-2-3. Manslaughter.
Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice.
A. Voluntary manslaughter consists of manslaughter committed upon a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion.
Whoever commits voluntary manslaughter is guilty of a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being.
B.
Involuntary manslaughter consists of manslaughter committed in the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to felony, or
in the commission of a lawful act which might produce death in an unlawful manner or
without due caution and circumspection.
Whoever commits involuntary manslaughter is guilty of a fourth degree felony.
History: 1953 Comp., § 40A-2-3, enacted by Laws 1963, ch. 303, § 2-3; 1994, ch. 23, § 2.
More...
Breaking it down..
- "manslaughter committed" - Satisfied.
- "in the commission of a lawful act" - Satisfied.
- "which might produce death" - Unsure. There is a very small chance that a golf ball in a normal game of golf could hit someone in the head causing death. Would hitting a golf ball satisfy this element of the crime? If not, then this element of the crime must require that death be a foreseeable possibility flowing from the act. Was it foreseeable that death could be caused by a gun that a gun expert said was safe on a movie set? And if there is a foreseeability requirement for this element of the crime, should it be applied based on the actual knowledge and experience of the person who committed manslaughter or based on the knowledge and experience of an average member of the public or an average person who would be handling a gun on a movie set? And I'm not even going to address the unfortunate use of "which" instead of "that" in the statute.
- "without due caution and circumspection" - This is the real question.
The following additional information is from the above link and is not part of the statute itself..
Criminal negligence required for involuntary manslaughter by lawful act. — A killing by lawful act, to be involuntary manslaughter, depends on whether the lawful act was done in an unlawful manner or without due caution and circumspection.
The phrase "without due caution and circumspection" has been held to involve the concept of "criminal negligence," which concept includes conduct which is reckless, wanton or willful. State v. Grubbs, 1973-NMCA-096, 85 N.M. 365, 512 P.2d 693, overruled on other grounds, Santillanes v. State, 1993-NMSC-012, 115 N.M. 215, 849 P.2d 358; State v. Yarborough, 1995-NMCA-116, 120 N.M. 669, 905 P.2d 209.
Now I just need to know the meaning of each of the words "reckless," "wanton" and "willful."
Houses have always been fireproof, take my word for it.