Definition of involuntary manslaughter
: manslaughter resulting from the failure to perform a legal duty expressly required to safeguard human life, from the commission of an unlawful act not constituting a felony, or from the commission of a lawful act in a negligent or improper manner
Examples of involuntary manslaughter in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web That same day, Owen, who in 2011 fatally shot another man while on duty, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, first-degree assault and use of a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence.
—
NBC News, "Family to receive $20 million in handcuffed man's shooting death," 28 Sep. 2020 Valenzuela's death was ruled a homicide and the the officer was fired and charged with involuntary manslaughter.
—
N'dea Yancey-bragg, USA TODAY, "More than a dozen police chiefs faced backlash – and left – after George Floyd's death. Here's a list.," 10 Sep. 2020 Amanda Witt, 26, is charged with involuntary manslaughter, corrupting another with drugs and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of Richard Vande Ryt.
—
Cameron Knight, The Enquirer, "Woman charged in drug death of former Green Twp. police officer," 13 Aug. 2020 The three Lakeside Academy staff members — Michael Mosley, Zachary Solis, Heather McLogan — were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse.
—
Justin Carissimo, CBS News, "Three charged in death of black teen who died after being restrained at youth facility," 27 June 2020 In the trial, Officer William Porter, who was also African American, was charged with involuntary manslaughter and three lesser counts, charges that were eventually dismissed after his jury deadlocked.
—
Bob Egelko, SFChronicle.com, "Why is it hard to convict police officers of homicide? One reason is authority, juror says," 22 June 2020 Churchheus appeared in Hocking County Common Pleas Court Wednesday and entered a guilty plea to a charge of involuntary manslaughter as part of a deal that dropped the murder and reckless homicide charges, the outlet reported.
—
NBC News, "Ohio teen pleads guilty in death of woman killed by nearly 75-pound log," 18 Sep. 2020 According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, WBNS-TV and the Springfield News-Sun, Jaden W. Churchheus pleaded guilty in Hocking County Common Pleas Court to a charge of involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.
—
Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, "Teen Killed Photographer by Pushing 75-lb. Log Off Cliff While Victim Was Taking Pictures Below," 17 Sep. 2020 Facing billions of dollars in damage claims from the fire, the company filed for bankruptcy last year and ended up pleading guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
—
oregonlive, "Explosion, sparks from power line preceded Oregon’s Holiday Farm fire, area residents say," 17 Sep. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'involuntary manslaughter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on involuntary manslaughter
What made you want to look up involuntary manslaughter? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Farm Idioms Quiz
- What does 'poke' refer to in the expression 'pig in a poke'?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share involuntary manslaughter
Time Traveler for involuntary manslaughter
The first known use of involuntary manslaughter was in 1792
See more words from the same year