Just as the name “involuntary” implies, involuntary manslaughter is an unintentional killing of another person due to recklessness or negligence. The lack of intent to kill someone else is an automatic case.
It is the lowest form of homicide. However, because someone has been killed, many investigations will be carried out to ascertain if it was intentional or unintentional. As a result, most people who have committed the act of involuntary manslaughter may be misjudged and given the same penalty as a case of murder.
Will I Be Penalized For Involuntary Manslaughter?
In this case, you will be required to get a seasoned criminal lawyer Sydney to gather enough facts and proof. If proved beyond doubt that it is a case of involuntary manslaughter, you may likely spend a couple of times in prison, depending on the judge’s final decision.
Let’s presume it is a situation where you unintentionally kill someone, and it is crystal clear that you had no intentions of doing so. Still, because you were ignorant or behaved recklessly, the law will hold you accountable for the crime of involuntary manslaughter. A typical example is the involvement of Dr. Conrad Murray in Michael Jackson’s death.
Dr. Conrad M. administered a severe and dangerous drug known as propofol to Michael Jackson. Propofol is a Controlled Drug Addictive (CDA) used in major surgery as anesthesia. It can cause unconsciousness or put someone in a deep sleep. However, Dr. Conrad administered this drug to Michael Jackson as a sleeping pill but failed to monitor him regularly. As a result of his negligence, Michael Jackson died. He was subsequently charged with involuntary manslaughter, tried, and was convicted.
If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, the individual could face up to four years in prison. It is that serious.
Examples Of Involuntary Manslaughter
Typical examples are:
- a case of improperly prescribing drugs
- Accidental firearm discharge
- Practicing medicine without a license to do so
- You are not controlling your dog with a history of biting people.
What Lawyers Can I Hire?
Involuntary manslaughter is not just an easy case. Because life is lost, the individual will need to hire a reputable and seasoned criminal lawyer Sydney. You wouldn’t want to hire just any lawyer for this case because it is more severe than it sounds. Many folks out there in prison may have committed the act of involuntary manslaughter, but were charged with murder. This could be because they hired just any lawyer they thought would handle the job for them.
Conclusion
Many innocent individuals have been wrongly accused of this charge for a couple of reasons. Most of the time, the death was just an accident and not intentional. It could happen even when the individual behaved responsibly and wasn’t expected. It would not be fair to hold the individual responsible for a crime in this case.
Sometimes, the case could be different. For example, it could be someone else who acted recklessly that led to the victim’s death.