Representation In Manslaughter Cases
If you or a family member has been charged with manslaughter, you need an experienced attorney on your side. At Pearson & Paris, we have more than 22 years of legal experience that we will use in your defense. Perhaps more importantly, our top criminal defense attorney is a former senior felony prosecutor who knows how the prosecutors handle these cases. That knowledge allows us to create effective strategies ranging from negotiating plea bargains to waging full on court battles.
Whether in the Louisville area or anywhere in Kentucky, the Kentucky Penal Code codifies two degrees of manslaughter:
First Degree Manslaughter occurs in the following ways: (1) with intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, the defendant causes the death of such person or of a third person or (2) he intentionally causes the death of another person under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, or (3) in the course of abusing a another person, he causes the death of a child 12 years of age or younger or who is physically or mentally helpless. K.R.S. § 507.030. It is a class B felony.
Second Degree Manslaughter occurs by wantonly causing the death of another person. This includes wantonly causing the death of another by the operation of a motor vehicle and by leaving a child under the age of eight in a motor vehicle which manifest an extreme indifference to human life and which creates a grave risk of death to the child. K.R.S. § 507.040. It is a class C felony.
Possible Consequences for Manslaughter
First Degree Manslaughter is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 10 years nor more than 20 years. Second Degree Manslaughter is punishable by a sentence of imprisonment of not less than 5 years nor more than 10 years. K.R.S. § 532.060
Possible Defenses for Manslaughter
In the case of manslaughter, the defense may center on the fact that the person did not act in a wanton manner and that the resulting death was an accident. It may also be possible to demonstrate that the killing occurred in self-defense.
Homicide cases require a comprehensive defense approach that may require the assistance of other professionals in a variety of disciplines to analyze all aspects of the case. The defense may require experts in the areas of gunshot residue (GSR), DNA, serology, emergency medicine, psychology, psychiatry, human reaction, firearms, tool marks, foot marks, tire marks, crime scene investigations and police procedure.
The remaining defenses that may be applied in a second-degree murder case apply with equal force to those that may apply in any other criminal case. This includes analyzing any violation of constitutional rights, such as the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, the right to have any searches and seizures based on probable cause, a proper warrant, and the right to due process in the proper preservation of evidence that may be used against you. Many other defenses are available that rely on scrutinizing and exposing weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case, such as biased or incompetent witnesses, flawed crime scene investigation, flawed administration and procedures in collecting breath, blood or urine for forensic testing, incompetent computer evidence, flawed photo lineups and inaccurate crime scene/accident reconstructions.
It is important that you hire a skilled and experienced manslaughter lawyer to defend you in a second-degree murder case in Hurstbourne, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Call us at 502-688-5200 in the Greater Louisville area and all of Kentucky.
Contact Our Firm in La Grange, Kentucky for an initial consultation.
For an initial consultation with a Louisville criminal law attorney, contact Pearson & Paris. We represent clients throughout Trimble, Henry, Oldham, Jefferson, Shelby, and Spencer counties in such cities as Louisville, St. Matthews, Lyndon, Prospect, Anchorage, Hurstbourne, Middletown, Jeffersontown, Shively, Crestwood, Goshen, Buckner, La Grange, Simpsonville, Shelbyville, Mt. Washington and Shepherdsville.