Posted: April 15th, 2022

Stand for Issue

Criminal Law
Stand for Issue
According to criminal law, homicides committed without the aim to kill and due to recklessness is known as involuntary manslaughter but not murder — for instance, manslaughter caused by reckless driving or drunk driving. Though involuntary manslaughter differs from various states, some states treat involuntary manslaughter serious especially homicides caused due to drunk driving. Voluntary manslaughter is accelerated by the heat of passion where the killer has prior thoughts of killing and plan due to uncontrolled grief. The case of Jeff in Richmond was a voluntary manslaughter regardless Jeff was drunk while committing the crime.
Ruling
Actions showing the heat of passion from the killer are pure validation that the killer had prior plans to commit the act. Manslaughter is viewed as a lesser crime compared to murder. The killer involuntary manslaughter has the urge to cause harm to the target and later are guilty of their actions. (Yeo 211-246). The case of Jeff killing his boss was voluntary manslaughter and could have been treated as murder. Jeff having aggression and bitterness towards his boss after being fired was enough reason for him to kill intentionally. Deliberate killing is accompanied by heat of passion where hate drove Jeff in committing the crime.
Jeff’s case was not out of defense, and Kelvin was not in any lousy motive of attacking Jeff. The fact that Jeff went to the shop and bought the knife was a piece of clear evidence that the crime committed was intentional. If Jeff was heavily drunk the thought of buying the knife and tracing kelvin house could not have been in his mind. (Robinson 381-387). Alcohol influence on a planned and successful murder is voluntary manslaughter. Lesser crimes are considered as involuntary, for instance administering wrong medication, unstable mental accelerated incident as well as death out of the precarious and neglected building.
Analysis
Jeff’s argument is invalid regardless of alcohol influence. Kelvin’s murder was planned after Jeff was sacked. Jeff had bitterness and a feeling of aggression towards Kelvin. This drove Jeff towards taking alcohol and purchasing a knife. If Jeff had not thought of killing or implicating pain on Kelvin, Jeff could not have murdered Kelvin even after intoxication.
Conclusion
Jeff’s action in killing Kelvin was intentional because the thought and bitterness towards Kevin was still fresh in mind. Alcohol motivated Jeff to commit the crime but not an excuse for committing the crime. Most criminal use drugs and alcohol before committing a crime because most state laws consider the action as unintended and involuntary. Actions driven by heat of passion are considered voluntary as well as when the action is not used as a defense mechanism.

Work Cited
Robinson, Paul H. “A brief summary and critique of criminal liability rules for intoxicated conduct.” The Journal of Criminal Law 82.5 (2018): 381-387.
Yeo, Stanley. “Manslaughter versus Special Homicide Offences: An Australian Perspective.” Criminal Liability for Non-Aggressive Death. Routledge, 2016. 211-246.

Order | Check Discount

Tags: Stand for Issue