District of Columbia Involuntary Manslaughter Laws

District of Columbia Official Code §21-21: Murder; Manslaughter

Under District of Columbia involuntary manslaughter law, the crime can either be classified as criminal-negligence manslaughter or misdemeanor manslaughter.

Involuntary, Criminal-Negligence Manslaughter

The elements of involuntary criminal-negligence manslaughter are:

• Defendant caused the death of the victim;
• The conduct that caused the death was a gross deviation from a reasonable standard of care; and
• The conduct that caused the death created an extreme risk of death or serious bodily injury.

Involuntary, Misdemeanor Manslaughter

The elements of involuntary misdemeanor manslaughter are:

• Defendant caused the death of the victim;
• Defendant did so while committing or attempting to commit an underlying misdemeanor; and
• Defendant committed or attempted to commit the underlying misdemeanor in a manner that created a reasonably foreseeable risk of appreciable physical injury.

Penalty

Under District of Columbia involuntary manslaughter law, whoever is guilty of manslaughter will be sentenced to a period of imprisonment up to 30 years.

Self Defense

District of Columbia criminal laws state that a person has the right to use a reasonable amount of force in self-defense if he or she actually believes that there is imminent danger of bodily harm and if he or she has reasonable grounds for that belief. The question is whether the defendant, under the circumstances according to the defendant, actually believed that imminent danger of bodily harm was present and that belief was reasonable.