The term manslaughter legally means the killing of a human in a way that is considered by law as less culpable than murder. The law considers different levels of criminal culpability depending on the state of mind of the criminal. This is especially true within the law of homicide, where murder requires the intent to kill. Manslaughter is broken down into two categories: involuntary and voluntary.

Voluntary manslaughter is where the person who committed the crime may have an intention to kill or cause serious injury, but the potential liability for the criminal is mitigated by the circumstances and state of mind. One of the most common examples of this is the “heat of passion” killing. There are many different types of voluntary manslaughter that the law recognizes; however, they are very closely related, and indistinguishable in some cases, that many jurisdictions don’t differentiate between them. These types include: provocation, heat of passion, imperfect self-defense, and diminished responsibility.

Provocation is a killing that’s caused by an event that might cause any reasonable person to lose self-control and kill. A heat of the passion killing happens when the actions of someone else cause the defendant to act without thinking first.

On the other hand, involuntary manslaughter, often called criminally negligent homicide, happens when there is no intention to kill or cause serious injury but death occurs because of a recklessness or criminal negligence.

Recklessness, also known as willful blindness, is a blatant disregard for the known dangers of a particular action or situation. No intent to kill exists, but as a result of a reckless action, a resulting death may not be considered murder. The person committing the act knows of the risk of injury to others by their actions but willfully disregards it, and could be subject to prosecution for involuntary manslaughter.

Vehicular manslaughter holds a person liable for any death that happens as a result of criminal negligence or a violation of traffic safety laws. The most common type of vehicular manslaughter laws involve someone driving while intoxicated. Committing manslaughter while driving while intoxicated requires a lesser mens rea, or state of mind, than that of other manslaughter offenses.

A misdemeanor manslaughter is a lesser version of felony murder and pertains to someone who causes the death of someone else while committing a misdemeanor. If this misdemeanor involved a law that was designed to protect human life, then the homicidal act may automatically lead to a conviction.
Lastly, there is assisted suicide. In some U. S. states, this type of manslaughter is punishable as second degree manslaughter.