Manslaughter is unusual because it is more about an unlawful homicide that is not enough to amount to murder.
There are two main types of manslaughter; voluntary and involuntary. The difference is based on the intention of the defendant so if there is an intention to kill or do grievous bodily harm then we are looking at voluntary manslaughter and if there is no such intention then we are looking at involuntary manslaughter.
The first type of voluntary manslaughter is based on the loss of control and replaces the old law of provocation. Loss of control comes from s. 54 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and has three main elements:
1) Loss of self-control
2) The loss of self-control had a qualifying trigger
3) A person of D’s sex and age but reasonable tolerance might have acted the same way
1) This change in the law accounts for some of the previous criticisms that came from the case of Ahluwalia [1992]. In particular the loss of control no longer has to be sudden and temporary but as per s. 54(4).
2) Previously the qualifying trigger could be anything said or done but Doughty [1986] showed that this was too broad. Now there has to be fear of serious violence (s. 55(3)). Things said or done can still operate as a trigger but only where they created grave circumstances or gave D a justifiable sense of being wronged (s. 55(4)). However if D actually incited this herself then this cannot act as a trigger (s. 55(6)). Sexual infidelity also cannot act as a a trigger.
3) This brings statute law in line with the Privy Council decision in A-G for Jersey v Holley [2005].
Another type of voluntary manslaughter is diminished responsibility as per section 2 of the Homicide Act 1957. This is based on an abnormality of the mind that was defined by Parker CJ in Byrne [1960] who said it is “a state of mind so different from ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal”. It is important to note thought that this is not insanity and instead relates to an impairment of mental responsibility for the death.
The main type of involuntary manslaughter is an unlawful and dangerous act. For an act to be unlawful it must not only be a crime but also a significant cause for the subsequent death; Kennedy (No. 2) [2007]. Meanwhile dangerous is given its ordinary meaning as per Church [1966] and is not to be applied ex post facto.
The other types of involuntary manslaughter are as follows:
Gross negligence - Adomako [1994]: Where there is a breach of the duty of care that causes death and is considered by a jury to amount to gross negligence in that regard.
Reckless - Lidar [1999]: Where there is a conscious taking of risk that means it is likely serious bodily harm will be caused.
Corporate - As per section one of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.