20+ Differences between A Homicide and A Manslaughter (Explained)

The world is a happy place but, at the same time, evil. Every minute, a person is estimated to lose his life through foul play worldwide. People who know true crime understand what Homicide and Manslaughter are.

But most people might have difficulty understanding the two, especially when they are not into it. Homicide simply refers to killing someone intentionally or unintentionally. Whereas Manslaughter specifically refers to killing someone unintentionally. 

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Key Differences

Homicide 

1. It refers to killing someone, which can be intentional or unintentional. 
2. It typically comprises Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide. 
3. It is considered a more severe crime in comparison with Manslaughter. 
4. Premeditation, i.e., planning of killing, is present in a Homicide. 

Manslaughter 

1. It is a type of Homicide that is done without any intention of it. 
2. It typically comprises two parts: Voluntary and Involuntary. 
3. It is considered a less severe crime in comparison with Homicide. 
4. Premeditation is absent in a Manslaughter. 

Comparison between A Homicide and A Manslaughter

Parameter	Homicide	Manslaughter
Meaning	It refers to the killing of a human being by another human being. Every killing is referred to as Homicide first. After the research, killing is subcategorized into Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide.	It involves killing a human being by another human being,  but the accused had no intention nor plan to kill the victim. Therefore, it is considered a type of Homicide with no intention to kill as its hallmark feature.
Types	It can broadly be classified into three categories: Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide.	It can be broadly classified into two categories: Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter.
Intention	The intent to kill a person can not be answered in discussing Homicide as a whole. It largely depends on which type of Homicide is in the picture. For example, intent to kill is present in Murder but absent in Manslaughter and Justifiable Homicide.	The intent to kill is typically absent in this kind of killing.
Premeditation	Deciding whether Premeditation is present or not also depends on which type of Homicide is being investigated. For example, premeditation is typically present in Murder but absent in Manslaughter and Justifiable Homicide.	Premeditation is absent in this case of killing.
Severity	The crime of Homicide is considered more severe than the crime of Manslaughter. This is sole because the accused intended to kill the victim.	The crime of Manslaughter is considered less severe than the crime of Homicide. This is because the accused had no intention of killing the victim in the first place.
Punishment	Since the crime of Homicide is more severe and done with an intent to kill, the punishment of Homicide is more than the punishment of Manslaughter. Justifiable Homicide has no punishment. However, Murder accused people get life in prison for at least five years and at most 99 years, along with a fine penalty of up to $10,000.	The crime of Manslaughter is considered less severe and done without the intent to kill. Thus, it involves lesser punishment than a Murder Homicide. The accused of Manslaughter gets at least two years and at most 20 years in prison, along with a fine penalty of up to $10,000.
Legality	Murder Homicides are considered completely illegal, whereas Justifiable Homicides are legal under special circumstances.	Manslaughter crimes are considered neither legal nor illegal. They are instead considered unlawful.
Examples	A person planning to kill and intentionally killing an old man. (Murder). A serial killer killing numerous people (Murder). A woman killing a rapist in self-defense (Justifiable Homicide). A policeman was shooting a kidnapper to stop him from kidnapping someone, which resulted in his death (Justifiable Homicide).	A person kills someone due to a violent fight between the accused and the victim (Voluntary Manslaughter). A Schizophrenic person kills someone without realizing what he has done (Involuntary Manslaughter). A paramedic giving an injection to a patient results in his death (Involuntary Manslaughter).

Major Differences Between A Homicide And A Manslaughter 

What exactly is a Homicide? 

Any killing of a human done by another human is referred to as Homicide. It is an umbrella term that comprises various kinds of killing: Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide.

According to a study organized by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), approximately 464,000 people lost their lives to Homicide in 2017. Killings done with intent (Murder) and Those done without intent (Manslaughter) come in the category of Homicide. Due to this reason, it can be illegal as well as legal. 

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Facts and characteristics of Homicide 

1. It is simply characterized by the killing of a human by another human. 
2. Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide are different types of Homicide. 
3. Surprisingly, it can be legal as well as illegal. 
4. Killing with intent and killing without it are both considered Homicides. 
5. On average, more than 400,000 people die yearly from Homicides. 

What exactly is Manslaughter? 

Manslaughter can simply be described as the killing of a human by another human without any intention of doing so. It is a type of Homicide, but people often consider it worse than Homicide because of how it sounds.

Since there is no intention of killing, it is considered less severe than a Homicide. It can further be classified into two main categories: Involuntary and Voluntary Manslaughter. People who commit Manslaughter often have to serve 2 to 20 years in prison along with a fine of $10,000. 

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Characteristics of Manslaughter 

1. It is a type of Homicide that involves killing a human attempted by another human but without any intention of doing so. 
2. It can be further categorized into Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter. 
3. The degree of crime is often considered moderate in Manslaughter. 
4. People charged with Manslaughter have to face approximately 2 to 20 years in prison, along with a fine of $10,000. 

The Contrast between a Homicide and a Manslaughter 

Meaning

• Homicide – It is best described as the killing of a human done by another human. It is considered an umbrella term because it consists of various ways of killing that are considered legal and illegal. It also differentiates different killings based on the intentions of the criminal. 

• Manslaughter – It is a type of Homicide that involves the killing of a human done by another human but without any intention of doing so. A person charged with Manslaughter generally did not want to kill any person, but the presence of various factors led him to do that. 

Types

• Homicide: can be broadly classified into three main categories: Murder, Manslaughter, and Justifiable Homicide. A Murder refers to the killing of a human done by another human who had done all the planning and intentions to do so.
  Manslaughter is the killing of a human done by another human but with no planning and intentions to do so. Lastly, a Justifiable Homicide refers to the killing of a human done by another human, usually in a situation of self-defense. 

• Manslaughter can further be subcategorized into two main categories: Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter. Voluntary Manslaughter can be best described as a killing that was led due to the heat of the moment.
  But it can be considered that there was some intent involved but not the intent to kill. Involuntary Manslaughter refers to killing someone without any intent, but it happens mainly due to accidents. 

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Types of Homicides and Manslaughter 

Homicides 

1. Murder – It refers to the killing of a human being by another human being before planning and intent to kill. It can further be categorized into First-degree Murder, Second Degree Murder, and Felony Murder. 
2. Manslaughter – It refers to the killing of a human being by another human being without any planning and intent to kill. It can further be categorized into Voluntary and Involuntary Manslaughter. 
3. Justifiable Homicide: As the name suggests, it refers to a killing of a human being done by another human being with good intentions. For example, a cop killing a murderer or a woman saving herself from a rapist and ending up killing him in self-defense. 

Manslaughter 

1. Voluntary Manslaughter refers to killing a human being by another human being without the intent to kill but being forced due to the surroundings or heat of a moment. For example, fights result in death. 
2. Involuntary Manslaughter refers to killing a human without intent to kill, but it happened accidentally and unknowingly. For example, death resulting from car accidents. 

Intention

• Homicide – The question of killing someone purposely depends on what type of Homicide a person is charged with. If a person intended to kill someone and did it, it would be considered Murder. If there was no intention, it is considered either Manslaughter or Justifiable Homicide. 

• Manslaughter – Although the term Manslaughter sounds very harsh, the reality of it is completely different. Typically a person charged with the crime of Manslaughter had no intention of pursuing such a crime. It just happened due to the surrounding situations. 

Premeditation 

• Homicide – Premeditation simply refers to the planning done by the accused person before killing someone. In a Murder Homicide, there is a presence of planning or premeditation. However, planning is mainly absent in the case of Manslaughter and Justifiable Homicide. Speaking of Homicide as a whole, there is a presence and absence of premeditation. It just depends on the type of Homicide committed. 

• Manslaughter – Any planning to kill or premeditation done by the accused is always absent in the case of Manslaughter. 

Punishment

• Homicide – The punishment of a Homicide depends on which type of Homicide is attempted by the accused. The punishment for Homicides differs from country to country. However, generally, the punishment for a Murder ranges from 5 to 99 years, along with a fine penalty of $10,000. On the other hand, there is no punishment for a Justifiable Homicide. Thus, it can be said that the punishment for Homicide is more than the punishment for Manslaughter. 

• Manslaughter – The punishment of Manslaughter varies from country to country. However, it typically ranges from 2 to 20 years, along with a fine penalty of at most $10,000. The punishment for Manslaughter is considered low because the accused did not intend to kill the victim. 

Severity

• Homicide – Homicide crimes are considered more violent in comparison to Manslaughter. This is because of Murder Homicide, as there is intent and premeditation before murdering someone. And a Justifiable Homicide is considered justified. So it is pretty much the Murder Homicide that makes a difference. 

• Manslaughter – Manslaughter crimes are considered less severe in comparison with Homicide crimes. This is sole because the Manslaughter accused person neither planned the killing nor wanted to kill the victim in the first place. 

Legality

• Homicide – Homicide crimes are considered legal and illegal, but this largely depends on which type of Homicide is committed. For example, in the case of Murder, it is entirely illegal, but at the same time, in the case of a Justifiable Homicide, it is considered legal.

• Manslaughter – Manslaughter crimes come between legal and illegal aspects. Instead of just labeling them as legal and illegal, they are considered unlawful. Unlawful does not mean illegal; it just means something that is not allowed by a country’s legal system. 

Types of Homicides: A Comparison 

Parameter	Murder	Manslaughter	Justifiable Homicide
Intention	Present	Absent	Absent
Premeditation	Present	Absent	Absent
Life in prison	5-99 years	2-20 years	NIL
Fine penalty	Up to $10,000	Up to $10,000	NIL
Legality	Illegal	Unlawful	Legal

Examples

Homicide – Some examples of Homicides would be a serial killer killing people (Murder), a lady killing a man because he was trying to rape her (Justifiable Homicide), a person killing his father to acquire his insurance money (Murder), a person killing a person who was trying to kill his children (Justifiable Homicide), etc. 

Manslaughter: Some examples of Manslaughters would be a person killed by another person in an accident (Voluntary Manslaughter), a person seeing anyone sexually molestation to his wife, which makes him hit the accused and results in his death, Involuntary Manslaughter), etc. 

Examples

• A person planning to kill and intentionally killing a kid. (Murder). 
• A serial killer killing numerous people (Murder). 
• A person kills someone due to a violent fight between the accused and the victim (Voluntary Manslaughter). 
• A Schizophrenic person killing someone without realizing what he has done (Involuntary Manslaughter) 
• A policeman shot a kidnapper to stop him from kidnapping someone, resulting in his death (Justifiable Homicide). 

CONCLUSION 

Any killing of a human being done by another human being is referred to as simply Homicide. Manslaughter is a type of Homicide. The terms Homicide and Manslaughter are often confused with one another.

The main difference between Homicide and Manslaughter is that the former is usually done with intent and planning, while the latter is usually done without intent and planning. 

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