Homicide without the mens rea for murder — the two main forms of involuntary manslaughter and the separate route to liability for organisations.
A defendant who never intended to kill or cause serious harm can still be convicted of homicide, and the route to conviction depends on how the death came about. This chapter starts by marking out involuntary manslaughter from its voluntary counterpart, then works through unlawful act manslaughter — the four elements, the test for dangerousness and the mens rea required — including the causation problems that arise when death follows drug supply and self-injection. It then turns to gross negligence manslaughter: where the duty of care comes from, the standard against which the breach is measured, the level of risk involved and the jury's role in deciding whether the negligence was criminal, before drawing the key contrasts in risk and mens rea between the two forms. The chapter closes with corporate manslaughter under the 2007 Act, the senior management test and the penalties a court can impose on a convicted organisation.
