In English criminal law, manslaughter is the offence of unlawfully killing a person in circumstances that do not amount to murder.
Manslaughter is divided into two main categories: voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter. Both involve an unlawful killing, but differ in the defendant’s state of mind and level of culpability.
Voluntary manslaughter arises where the defendant had the intention required for murder, but liability is reduced due to the availability of a partial defence. These include loss of control, diminished responsibility, and killing pursuant to a suicide pact.
Involuntary manslaughter applies where there is no intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm. It includes unlawful act manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter.
Unlawful act manslaughter, also known as unlawful and dangerous act manslaughter, occurs where death results from a criminal act that is objectively dangerous. The defendant must commit an unlawful act that all sober and reasonable people would recognise as carrying a risk of some harm.
Cases involving the supply of controlled drugs may fall within this category where the unlawful act causes the victim’s death.
Gross negligence manslaughter arises where a defendant breaches a duty of care owed to the victim, causing death, and where the breach is so serious as to be considered criminal. The courts assess whether the conduct involved an obvious risk of death and whether it was grossly negligent.
Manslaughter is an indictable-only offence carrying a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Sentencing depends on the category of manslaughter, the defendant’s culpability, and the circumstances of the offence.
The offence of manslaughter allows the criminal law to reflect varying degrees of fault in cases of unlawful killing, providing flexibility where murder would be an inappropriate label.
December 11, 2025
D was accused of manslaughter and inflicting grievous bodily harm after his wife, allegedly subjected to long-term domestic abuse, committed suicide. The Court of Appeal held that psychological injury without a recognisable psychiatric illness does not constitute “bodily harm” under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, upholding the terminating...
December 11, 2025
An 18-year-old Jehovah’s Witness refused a life-saving blood transfusion after being stabbed by the appellant and died. The Court of Appeal held that her refusal did not break the chain of causation; the stab wound remained an operative cause of death, so the manslaughter conviction stood. Facts The appellant, Robert...
December 11, 2025
Rafferty, aged 17, participated in an early stage assault and robbery of Ben Bellamy but left before co-defendants stripped, dragged and drowned the victim. The Court of Appeal held the drowning was a new intervening act, so Rafferty’s manslaughter conviction as a secondary party was quashed. Facts The appellant, Andrew...
March 9, 2026
National Case Law Archive
March 9, 2026
National Case Law Archive
March 9, 2026
National Case Law Archive