what is needed to prove negligent homicide in ny
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE
Negligent homicide, sometimes referred to as criminally negligent homicide or involuntary manslaughter, is a form of murder under Arizona law. While murder is the most serious crime a person can face, the law carves out levels of severity for homicide charges. While still a very serious felony, negligent homicide is the lowest level of all murder charges. In fact, many negligent homicides charged in Arizona involve horrible mistakes and the decease a person known to the person charged. Equally experienced homicide attorneys, we fight to protect those charged with a law-breaking subsequently a tragic blow. 
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE DEFINITION
For the criminal offence of negligent homicide, Arizona law ARS 13-1102 requires the prosecution prove that you lot caused the death of another person with criminal negligence. You had no intention to kill when yous commit negligent homicide.
Acting with criminal negligence means that yous failed to recognize a substantial and unjustifiable risk of causing the death of another person. The blazon of take a chance the law is talking about is one that a reasonable person would not have taken. So, what raises the degree of negligence from ordinary ceremonious liability to criminal liability is when you lot human action in an extremely unreasonable mode. Arizona calls this criminal negligence, while some states call it gross negligence.
Examples of Negligent Homicide
- Child left in hot car. A parent forgets that their child is in a car seat in the backseat and leaves the child in the car while the parent goes to piece of work. Subsequently work, the parent returns to the car and realizes they forgot their child in the back seat, merely the child has died from heatstroke. The parent is heartbroken and had absolutely no intention of killing their child, but a prosecutor could decide to charge the parent with Negligent Homicide.
- Waiting too long to call 911. While hanging out together, two college friends make up one's mind to get loftier on prescription drugs. Ane friend overdoses. Instead of immediately calling 911 for help, the other friend becomes frantic considering they were both abusing prescription drugs. And then, instead, she texts and calls another friends. And finally, an 60 minutes later, she calls 911. But when the paramedics arrive the overdosed friend is already unresponsive, and paramedics cannot revive her. She dies as a result. The friend who waited an hour before calling 911 could be charged with negligent homicide.
- Inattentive Babysitter. A grandfather is babysitting his toddler granddaughter at his home. His dwelling house has two stories and the second-floor rooms accept outdoor balconies with widely spaced railings that his granddaughter tin hands fit through. While babysitting, he leaves the doors to the outdoor balconies open because the weather is prissy that solar day. Simply his toddler goes on one of the balconies, falls through the railings and dies. Grandfather could exist charged with negligent homicide.
CRIME OR TRAGIC Accident?
Sometimes a person who is sadly involved in a tragic accident that results in some other person's death is charged for interim with criminal negligence with the crime of negligent homicide.
The above examples of situations that can lead to a negligent homicide accuse testify you the fine line betwixt a tragic accident and negligent homicide. Also, many times Negligent Homicide cases involve families hurting their own loved ones. Criminal charges can brand an already horrible and deplorable state of affairs fifty-fifty worse. The family is already grieving and often practice non want criminal charges brought against their ain family fellow member for what they consider to be a tragic accident.
If y'all or a loved one is charged with negligent homicide, then it is of import that you accept a skilled chaser on your side. Your chaser needs to ensure that the prosecution is non unfairly holding you criminally liable for a tragic accident.
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE VS MANSLAUGHTER
Negligent homicide is very similar to manslaughter (ARS 13-1103), under Arizona law. The difference is that for negligent homicide, you are not aware of the risk, whereas for manslaughter, you are aware of the hazard. In fact, negligent homicide used to exist called involuntary manslaughter in Arizona. Information technology is essentially an unintentional manslaughter.
SIDE Note: Sometimes, the prosecution will effort to charge you with a more serious type of homicide, such as manslaughter or second caste murder. Convictions for negligent homicide are often the outcome of either:
- A result of plea bargaining; or
- A jury deciding that a person is guilty of the less serious offense of negligent homicide rather than the more serious homicide charge alleged past the prosecutor.
Examples of Negligent Homicide vs Manslaughter
- Child left in hot automobile. Let's accept the showtime example from to a higher place where the parent forgets their kid in a hot car. If the parent was enlightened that they were leaving the kid in the machine while going in for a work shift, and then the parent could be charged with Manslaughter. Whereas the parent who forgot that the child was still in the machine was not aware that they were leaving the child and would be charged with Negligent Homicide. But whether the parent faces Manslaughter or Negligent Homicide really depends on what type of evidence there is to prove that the parent had awareness.
- Employer's dangerous policies. An employer set dangerous practices and policies at the workplace. An employee who follows these unsafe practices and policies dies every bit a result. The prosecution would probable charge the employer with manslaughter. Depending on the verbal facts, even so, a jury could find the employer guilty of the less serious crime of negligent homicide.
In fact, there was a case in Arizona where the president and master executive officeholder (CEO) of a sewer treatment plant was charged with manslaughter. But after trial, the jury convicted him of negligent homicide instead.
The CEO was an industry professional and knew the dangers of working at a sewer treatment plant, including dangerous toxic gases. He was aware of federal regulations regarding sure safety procedures and practices to make sewer treatment tanks safe for workers to enter.
Instead of following these regulations, he attempted to sidestep them and put into place unsafe policies that immune his employees to enter hole-and-corner tanks that were not safety. Every bit a result, employees died when they were overcome by a toxic gas.
The prosecution sought charges for manslaughter and the case went to trial. The jury plant the CEO guilty of the less-serious criminal offense of negligent homicide. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld his convictions and said that there was plenty of evidence that the employees' deaths were a directly result from the dangerous practices and policies adopted by the CEO on behalf of the company.
If the jury had convicted the CEO of manslaughter, information technology appears that the Arizona Court of Appeals would have also upheld those convictions because there was prove that the CEO was aware of the hazard.
These examples show you the fine line of manslaughter vs negligent homicide and the importance of having an experienced homicide attorney to defend you. You want to make certain that your criminal charge is dropped down to the lowest possible charge and that I fth ecase goes to trial you are acquitted.
NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE SENTENCE
Negligent homicide is a Class iv Felony.
If yous take no prior criminal tape, and you did not employ a deadly weapon (e.g., a gun) or dangerous instrument (e.m., a machine or a baseball game bat) to commit the crime, then the sentence for negligent homicide could be:
- Probation, with anywhere from 0 days in jail to 12 months in jail; or
- A minimum of 1 year in prison and upwards to a maximum of 3.75 years in prison.
The prison terms increase if you have prior criminal convictions.
If you are charged with negligent homicide every bit a Class 4 Dangerous Felony, meaning that you either used a deadly weapon (e.g., a gun) or a unsafe instrument (e.g., a motorcar or a baseball game bat), so the sentence for negligent homicide includes a mandatory prison house judgement. If this is the case, then you could be sentenced to:
- A minimum of 4 years in prison and upward to a maximum of 8 years in prison.
And if you accept a prior criminal history, so the prison terms again increase.
DEFENSES TO NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE
Because Negligent Homicide does non involve whatsoever intent to kill, it is never a defense to argue that you did non intend to commit the criminal offense or that you were justified in any manner to commit the crime. Instead, the master defenses to negligent homicide are:
Accident
One of the virtually common defenses is to contend that the death of the other person was the upshot of an blow, non criminal action. You debate that the prosecution cannot bear witness that your deportment were criminally negligent. The death could accept happened to any reasonable person under the same circumstances that y'all faced.
- Case: Permit's take the to a higher place example about a child left in a hot car. The exact circumstances that led to the parent forgetting that their child was in the car are important to divide a tragic accident from criminally negligent beliefs. Also, information technology may be necessary to hire an expert to testify nigh how human memory works and what happens when people keep autopilot. It is important to show that the child could accept been left in the car past any reasonable person in the parent's shoes.
Did Not Cause the Death
Another mutual defense force to Negligent Homicide is to fence that your deportment were non the cause of death. Some other event or person caused the death.
- Example: Permit'south take the above instance nearly a friend waiting also long to telephone call 911 when her friend overdoses. An skillful should be hired to evaluate the effects of the overdose and timing of the death. What's the prosecution'southward evidence that proves that, fifty-fifty if the defendant had called 911 before long after her friend overdosed, her friend would take survived? It was the overdose that caused the death, non the accused waiting to call 911.
HOMICIDE ATTORNEY
If you're facing a charge of negligent homicide, you need someone that tin can evaluate every defence possible. At Feldman & Royle, nosotros take the experience and skills necessary to ensure that the prosecution does not unfairly convict you lot for what is too frequently a tragic accident. If yous or a loved one faces a charge of negligent homicide, contact an experienced homicide attorney as presently as possible to protect your rights. We offer a free, confidential consultation.
Source: https://www.feldmanroyle.com/homicide/negligent-homicide/
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