Manslaughter Lawyer In Phoenix, AZ

Pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-1103, a person commits Manslaughter by any of the following circumstances:

1. Recklessly causing the death of another;
2. Intentionally or knowingly killing a person upon a sudden quarrel or in the heat of passion resulting from adequate provocation by the victim;
3. Intentionally providing the means to another to commit suicide with the knowledge that the person intends to die by suicide;
4. Intentionally or knowingly killing a person while being coerced to do so by the use or threated immediate use of unlawful deadly physical force upon such person or a third person, which a reasonable person in his situation would have been unable to resist.
5. Knowingly or recklessly causing the death of an unborn child by any physical injury to the mother.

The Statute further provides that a person who is at least eighteen years of age commits manslaughter by intentionally providing advice or encouragement that a minor uses to die by suicide with the knowledge that the minor intends to die by suicide.

In Arizona, the mental state of “Intentionally” or “with the intent to” means, with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense, that a person’s objective is to cause that result or to engage in that conduct.

The mental state of “knowingly” encompasses when a person is aware or believes that the person’s conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. It does not require any knowledge of the unlawfulness of the act or omission.

The mental state of “recklessly” is defined as a circumstance a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard of such risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but who is unaware of such risk solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect to such risk.

Manslaughter Punishment:

Manslaughter is a class 2 felony. The punishment for a conviction of manslaughter depends on a number of factors. First, the punishment can be enhanced if the manslaughter is dangerous, which is almost always the case. Second, the punishment can be enhanced if the person convicted has prior felony convictions.

For persons convicted of a first offense, the range of sentence is: 7 years as the minimum sentence, 10.5 years as the presumptive sentence; and 21 years as the maximum sentence in prison.

For persons convicted of manslaughter with one (1) prior allegeable historical prior dangerous felony conviction, the range of sentence is: 14 years (minimum); 15.75 years (presumptive), and 28 years (maximum) in prison.

For persons convicted of manslaughter with two (2) allegeable historical prior dangerous felony convictions, the range of sentence is 21 years (minimum), 28 years (presumptive), and 35 years (maximum) in prison.

Manslaughter Defenses:

There are a number of defenses that could possibly be lodged on a person’s behalf if they are charged with manslaughter. For example, if a person is charged with recklessly handling a firearm and the firearm accidentally discharges and kills someone, among other arguments that could be made, we would argue that the person did not act recklessly and did not ignore a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his actions would result in the death of another person or that the person’s conduct was not a gross deviation from what a reasonable person in his shoes would do. This often requires the assistance of a firearms expert. In other instances, individuals are charged with manslaughter when they are alleged to have been driving under the influence and their driving results in the death of a passenger or another person outside of the vehicle or in another car. In these cases, we would argue and attempt to show that the person was not under the influence; or we may also argue that the search warrant to obtain the person’s blood was unlawfully obtained.

Still in other cases, we might argue that the death of the other person was not the result of the accused and was instead the victim’s fault. We might also argue in some instances that the accused’s behavior was not voluntary. Finally, there are other defenses that can be raised regarding the accused’s statements to police should those statements have been made under threats, promises or coercion by law enforcement; the accused’s statements made not have been made voluntarily due to some other defect; or the result of a lack of Miranda warnings.

Because every case is different, our firm looks at all angles and exhausts all possible resources to find a remedy that is right for our clients and their circumstances.