Homicide Cases: Murder And Manslaughter

Murder and manslaughter are forms of homicide. Murder is the unlawful killing of a human being. It is covered in Florida Statute 782.04. It can be committed a number of different ways, and murder can be charged as first degree murder, second degree murder, or third degree murder. I rarely handle murder cases that do not involve the defense of self defense. These crimes carry substantial penalties, and long mandatory minimum prison sentences. The defense of such cases are extremely expensive, intense, and time consuming. Obviously, a loss will likely result in a long term prison sentence.

Manslaughter is the killing of a human being by culpable negligence without lawful justification. Culpable negligence is an act beyond normal negligence that is so gross and flagrant that it evinces a reckless disregard for human life and the consequences of one’s own actions. It can also be used when prosecuting the use of excessive force that caused the death of another. Manslaughter is covered pursuant to Florida Statute 782.07. It will generally be either a second degree or first degree felony, and will carry a mandatory minimum sentence if a firearm was involved. Like a murder case, these are expensive cases for a client, and intense cases for an attorney. It is rare that a conviction will not involve a lengthy jail sentence.

Like everything else in the criminal law, there are defenses to these cases. Sometimes the defense involves trying to get a jury to come back with a lesser charge. Sometimes it involves a plea bargain where jail is avoided, or substantially reduced. Sometimes you have no choice but go to trial when the prosecution is just not interested in anything but a lengthy jail term. Assuming you are seeking private criminal defense counsel, and can meet the heavy financial burden that these cases entail ($25,000.00 or more), please feel free to contact Mr. Gutmacher for a personal discussion of your case. We do charge a consultation fee for in office consultations on these cases because of the depth of the interview on such a serious matter, although the phone consultation with Mr. Gutmacher is free.