Colorado State - Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a charge associated with the killing of another person under circumstances, which are deemed less culpable than murder. Some states differentiate between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. Voluntary refers to cases in which the defendant may have intentionally caused the death or serious injury of another but was provoked and killed in the heat of passion. Involuntary manslaughter, also known as criminally negligent homicide, is the charge associated with cases where the killing was the unintentional result of a reckless or negligent act on the part of the defendant.
The Colorado criminal statutes define manslaughter in 18-3-104 as follows :
- A person commits the crime of manslaughter if:
- Such person recklessly causes the death of another person; or
- Such person intentionally causes or aids another person to commit suicide.
- Deleted by Laws 1996, H.B.96-1087, 13, eff. July 1, 1996.
- Manslaughter is a class 4 felony.
- This section shall not apply to a person, including a proxy decision-maker as such person is described in 15-18.5-103, C.R.S., who complies with any advance medical directive in accordance with the provisions of title 15, C.R.S., including a medical durable power of attorney, a living will, or a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) directive.
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This section shall not apply to a medical caregiver with prescriptive authority or authority to administer medication who prescribes or administers medication for palliative care to a terminally ill patient with the consent of the terminally ill patient or his or her agent.
For purposes of this subsection (4):
- "Agent" means a person appointed to represent the interests of the terminally ill patient by a medical power of attorney, power of attorney, health care proxy, or any other similar statutory or regular procedure used for designation of such person.
- "Medical caregiver" means a physician, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant licensed by this state.
- "Palliative care" means medical care and treatment provided by a licensed medical caregiver to a patient with an advanced chronic or terminal illness whose condition may not be responsive to curative treatment and who is, therefore, receiving treatment that relieves pain and suffering and supports the best possible quality of his or her life.
(c) Paragraph (a) of this subsection (4) shall not be interpreted to permit a medical caregiver to assist in the suicide of the patient.
To convict a person of manslaughter the State of Colorado must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following :
- That the defendant,
- in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,
- recklessly,
- caused the death of another person.
To convict a person of manslaughter in the case of assisted suicide the State of Colorado must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following :
- That the defendant,
- in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,
- intentionally,
- caused and/or aided another person to commit suicide.
To prove the crime of manslaughter in cases of provoked passion the State of Colorado must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following :
- That the defendant,
- in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,
- knowingly,
- caused the death of another person,
- under circumstances where the act causing death was performed under a sudden heat of passion, which was
- caused by a serious and highly provoking act of the intended victim,
- Affecting the defendant sufficiently to excite an irresistible passion in a reasonable person,
- and there was no interval between the provocation and the killing sufficient for the voice of reason and humanity to be heard.
To prove the crime of criminally negligent homicide the State of Colorado must establish the following beyond a reasonable doubt :
- That the defendant,
- in the State of Colorado, at or about the date and place charged,
- caused the death of another person,
- by conduct amounting the criminal negligence.
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