Reform of Hong Kongs Law on Involuntary Manslaughter - Essay Example

Precisely, manslaughter can be classified into two.  The first one is voluntary manslaughter, and the other is involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary manslaughter can be distinguished as homicide if the death of a person is caused by an intentional act provided that the particular requirements for the offenses of murder, manslaughter, homicide at the request of the victim, complicity in suicide, or infanticide are not fulfilled.  Whereas, an act of involuntary manslaughter is identified as the one that originates from the failure to perform a legal duty expressly required to safeguard human life, from the commission of an unlawful act not constituting a felony, or from the commission of a lawful act negligently or improperly. (Webster's online dictionary, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ involuntary%20manslaughter, accessed on 11th April 2009) According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, manslaughter is defined as: 'in Anglo-American criminal law, a category of criminal homicide that generally carries a lesser penalty than the crime of murder.

Different legal systems use different criteria to distinguish the kinds and degrees of unjustified killing'. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Manslaughter, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/362828/ manslaughter, accessed on 11th April 2009) In a legal context, manslaughter is considered the unlawful killing of a human being without malice or premeditation, expressed or implied; distinguished from murder, which requires malicious intent. The distinction between manslaughter and murder can be identified as, in the former case, though the act which caused the death is unlawful, either expressed or implied, it is termed as manslaughter, or if committed otherwise, it is termed as murder.

Manslaughter also differs from murder because there can be no time for premeditation or preplanning. Manslaughter is voluntary when it happens upon a sudden heat, or involuntary when it takes place in the commissioning of some unlawful act. The act of manslaughter becomes voluntary manslaughter if the defendant had an intention to inflict death or serious injury. But it depends upon the potential liability of the defendant about the circumstances by which the act is committed about the state of mind while the action is done.

Provocation or heat of the moment qualifies this. Suppose a husband happens to see his wife sharing the bed with her lover, and in sudden provocation and losing control he commits the killing of his wife, it is termed manslaughter. (http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/m013.htm, accessed on 11th April 2009). Precisely, involuntary manslaughter can be identified as an unintentional killing derived out of recklessness or from an act of illegal nature that amounts to a misdemeanor. It is a criminally negligent homicide committed with no intention to do it.

The decision on Scarlett [1993] 4 All ER 629 illustrates the above distinction.1. Scarlett [1993] 4 All ER 629Facts of the Case: The appellant, Mr. John Scarlett, being the owner of Queen's Road Tavern public house in Halifax, was about to close down his tavern on 12th June 1991 after the day's business, when the deceased, Mr. Larkin approached the appellant for getting service. But the appellant denied service to him. There were some heated arguments over this, and the appellant pushed the deceased towards the doors.