Manslaughter Laws by State: Voluntary, Involuntary, Vehicular (2026)

Manslaughter is an unlawful killing that the law treats as less culpable than murder. Federal law and many state codes define it as "the unlawful killing of a human being without malice" (18 U.S.C. 1112(a); Cal. Penal Code 192), and every state sets its own offenses, grades and sentences. Most states divide it into voluntary and involuntary manslaughter or into numbered degrees; others have a single offense named manslaughter, and Montana and Wisconsin cover the same ground under other names (mitigated deliberate homicide and second-degree intentional homicide). Deaths caused by impaired or reckless driving are often separate offenses, such as intoxication manslaughter in Texas or DUI manslaughter in Florida.

Information last verified on October 17, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This guide compares the criminal statutes on homicide below murder in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and summarizes federal manslaughter under 18 U.S.C. 1112. Each state row links to a full state page. It does not cover murder (see murder laws in the United States and murder sentencing guidelines), self-defense and justification (see self-defense laws by state), or civil lawsuits over a death (see wrongful death laws by state).

What is manslaughter?

Manslaughter is a criminal homicide committed without the malice that makes a killing murder. The federal statute puts the line this way: murder is "the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought" (18 U.S.C. 1111(a)), while manslaughter is "the unlawful killing of a human being without malice" (18 U.S.C. 1112(a)).

Most codes recognize two broad kinds of manslaughter, whatever they call them:

• Voluntary manslaughter: an intentional killing that the law partly excuses, usually because it happened in the heat of passion after adequate provocation. The federal statute says "Upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion."
• Involuntary manslaughter: an unintended killing caused by reckless or criminally negligent conduct, or during an unlawful act that is not a felony. The federal statute covers a killing "In the commission of an unlawful act not amounting to a felony, or in the commission in an unlawful manner, or without due caution and circumspection, of a lawful act which might produce death."

The labels vary from state to state, and so do the elements. A killing that one state calls voluntary manslaughter can be first-degree manslaughter in another, second degree murder in Illinois, and second-degree intentional homicide in Wisconsin. The state pages linked in the table below quote each state's own words.

How states structure manslaughter

The 51 jurisdictions fall into five models. For how numbered degrees work in general, see our explainer on first, second and third degree manslaughter.

Voluntary and involuntary manslaughter (22 jurisdictions): California, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

• In the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island and Vermont, one statute names a single crime of manslaughter and sets its penalty, and the courts recognize voluntary and involuntary forms from the common law. Described by their statutes alone, these six have one offense named manslaughter. North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia name both forms in their codes but leave the elements to the courts.
• California (Penal Code 192) and Idaho (18-4006) add vehicular manslaughter as a third kind.
• Nebraska has one statute (28-305) with two forms, which its Supreme Court has described as voluntary and involuntary manslaughter.
• Indiana uses the labels in its own way: its involuntary manslaughter (IC 35-42-1-4) covers a killing during certain lesser crimes or a battery, and a reckless killing is the separate offense of reckless homicide (IC 35-42-1-5).

Degrees of manslaughter (8 states): Connecticut, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

• Connecticut, Kentucky, New York and Oregon place an intentional killing under extreme emotional disturbance in the first degree and a reckless killing in the second degree (in Kentucky, a "wanton" killing).
• Washington numbers its degrees mainly by mental state: first degree is a reckless killing (RCW 9A.32.060) and second degree a criminally negligent one (9A.32.070).
• Oklahoma and South Dakota put in the first degree a killing without a design to effect death committed in a heat of passion but "in a cruel and unusual manner," or by means of a dangerous weapon (in Oklahoma the dangerous-weapon form also requires heat of passion; in South Dakota it does not).

One offense named manslaughter (14 states): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Texas and Utah.

• The single offense often has several forms. Alabama's 13A-6-3, for example, covers a reckless killing, a heat-of-passion killing, a fentanyl-distribution death and, for offenses on or after October 1, 2026, a DUI or BUI death, all as one Class B felony.
• Most of these states keep a lower offense for negligent deaths: criminally negligent homicide in Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware and Texas, and negligent homicide in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Utah.

Mixed models (5 states):

• Illinois: involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide (720 ILCS 5/9-3); a provoked killing is second degree murder (9-2), and outside the unborn-child sections there is no offense called voluntary manslaughter.
• Mississippi: a set of statutes in Title 97, Chapter 3 each describes a killing that "shall be manslaughter," with one penalty section (97-3-25).
• Missouri: voluntary manslaughter (565.023) plus involuntary manslaughter in the first and second degree (565.024, 565.027).
• New Jersey: two grades, aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter, both in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4.
• Tennessee: its only offense named manslaughter is voluntary manslaughter (39-13-211); unintended killings are reckless homicide (39-13-215) or criminally negligent homicide (39-13-212).

No offense called manslaughter (2 states): Montana uses mitigated deliberate homicide (MCA 45-5-103) and negligent homicide (45-5-104). Wisconsin's closest offense is second-degree intentional homicide (Wis. Stat. 940.05), which the 1988 Judicial Council note calls "analogous to the prior offense of manslaughter."

Manslaughter laws by state: comparison table

The table gives each state's main manslaughter offenses, their grade, the statutory maximum or range, and the main offense for a death caused by driving. Ranges are statutory: many states add enhancements, mandatory minimums or parole rules, which the state pages explain. Where a cell cannot hold the detail, it says "see state page."

Voluntary manslaughter, heat of passion and provocation

Voluntary manslaughter, or its local equivalent, generally covers a killing that would otherwise be murder but was committed in the heat of passion caused by adequate provocation, before a reasonable time to cool off. Georgia's statute is typical of the traditional wording: a killing "solely as the result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation," punished as murder if the jury finds there was time for "the voice of reason and humanity" to be heard (O.C.G.A. 16-5-2).

Other states replace heat of passion with extreme emotional disturbance, a broader standard judged from the defendant's situation:

• Extreme emotional disturbance with a reasonable explanation or excuse: Connecticut (53a-54a, 53a-55(a)(2)), Kentucky (507.030(1)(b)), New York (125.20(2), 125.25(1)(a)) and Oregon (163.118). Delaware (632, 641) and Arkansas (5-10-104(a)(1)) use the same idea.
• Extreme mental or emotional disturbance: Hawaii (HRS 707-702(2)) and New Hampshire (RSA 630:2, I(a), which requires extreme provocation).
• Other wordings: Maine's "extreme anger or extreme fear brought about by adequate provocation" (17-A M.R.S. 203(1)(B)), Montana's "extreme mental or emotional stress" (45-5-103) and Utah's special mitigation for extreme emotional distress (76-5-205.5).

States also limit what counts as provocation. Under Utah's statute (76-5-205.5(4)), words alone are not enough, and Alabama's courts apply the rule that mere words cannot reduce a killing to manslaughter (Speake v. State, 1992). Alaska excludes "insulting words, insulting gestures, or hearsay reports" and measures provocation by a reasonable person other than one who is intoxicated (AS 11.41.115(f)). Minnesota's statute provides that "the crying of a child does not constitute provocation" (609.20). Maryland provides that discovering a spouse in sexual intercourse with another is not legally adequate provocation (Crim. Law 2-207(b)).

Who must prove the mitigation differs too. In Delaware the accused must prove extreme emotional distress by a preponderance of the evidence (11 Del. C. 641), Maine treats adequate provocation as an affirmative defense to murder (State v. Hanaman, 2012), and in Texas sudden passion is a punishment-stage issue in a murder trial that the defendant must prove, which lowers the murder to a second-degree felony (Penal Code 19.02(d)).

States that bar a "gay or trans panic" provocation claim

The following jurisdictions have statutes providing that a victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (and in most of them, gender expression) cannot supply the provocation or mitigation that reduces a killing:

• California: Penal Code 192(f)(1), added by AB 2501 (2014).
• Colorado: C.R.S. 18-3-103(3)(c), effective July 13, 2020.
• Delaware: 11 Del. C. 472(b), enacted in 2023.
• District of Columbia: D.C. Code 23-115, effective May 15, 2021.
• Hawaii: HRS 707-702(2), Act 149 of 2019.
• Illinois: 720 ILCS 5/9-2(b), effective January 1, 2018; it uses the Human Rights Act definition of sexual orientation (775 ILCS 5/1-103(O-1)), which includes gender-related identity.
• Maine: 17-A M.R.S. 201(4), PL 2019, c. 462.
• Maryland: Crim. Law 2-207(c), effective October 1, 2021, which also lists race, color, national origin and sex; 2024 Md. Laws ch. 377, effective October 1, 2024, added religious beliefs and disability.
• Michigan: MCL 768.21d, added by 2024 Public Act 87 and effective April 2, 2025, which makes such evidence inadmissible to show provocation or heat of passion.
• Minnesota: Minn. Stat. 609.075 subd. 2, for crimes on or after August 1, 2024.
• Nevada: NRS 193.225, SB 97 (2019).
• New Hampshire: RSA 630:2, IV, current text effective January 1, 2024.
• New Jersey: N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4(b), P.L.2019, c.468, approved January 21, 2020.
• New Mexico: NMSA 30-1-16, effective May 18, 2022.
• New York: Penal Law 125.25(1)(a)(ii), chapter 45 of the Laws of 2019.
• Oregon: ORS 163.135(4), effective January 1, 2022.
• Rhode Island: R.I. Gen. Laws 12-17-17 (2018).
• Vermont: 13 V.S.A. 6566, effective May 5, 2021.
• Virginia: Va. Code 18.2-37.1 (2021).

Two more states have related laws that work differently. Connecticut's Public Act 19-27 (effective October 1, 2019) limits mental disease or defect and justification claims based on the victim's sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression, but it did not amend the extreme emotional disturbance provisions. Washington's 2020 law provides that a defendant does not suffer diminished capacity, and force is not justified, on that basis (RCW 9A.08.040, 9A.16.025).

Bills to add such a bar have not passed elsewhere: Wisconsin's 2025 Assembly Bill 361 failed on March 23, 2026, Nebraska's LB321 was indefinitely postponed in 2022, and North Carolina's House Bill 497 and Senate Bill 407 of 2025 have not been enacted.

Imperfect self-defense

A few codes reduce a killing based on an honest but unreasonable belief that deadly force was justified:

• Illinois: an unreasonable belief that the killing was justified makes it second degree murder (720 ILCS 5/9-2).
• Pennsylvania: an intentional or knowing killing based on an unreasonable belief that it was justified is voluntary manslaughter (18 Pa.C.S. 2503).
• Kansas: voluntary manslaughter includes a knowing killing "upon an unreasonable but honest belief" that deadly force was justified (K.S.A. 21-5404).
• Wisconsin: unnecessary defensive force and an unreasonable belief that force was needed to prevent a felony are among the mitigating circumstances that make an intentional killing second-degree intentional homicide (940.01(2), 940.05).

Massachusetts and North Carolina reach a similar result through case law, treating excessive force in self-defense as a route to voluntary manslaughter (Commonwealth v. Acevedo, 2006; State v. Wilkerson, 1978). Vermont's Supreme Court held in State v. Shaw (1998) that Vermont does not recognize imperfect self-defense. Whether force was justified at all is a separate question, covered in our guide to self-defense laws by state.

Involuntary manslaughter, recklessness and criminal negligence

Involuntary manslaughter and its equivalents turn on mental state. Many codes draw the line between recklessness and criminal negligence: a reckless person is aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death and consciously disregards it, while a criminally negligent person ought to be aware of the risk and is not. Texas states the distinction in Penal Code 6.03, and New Hampshire in RSA 626:2, II(c)-(d). The difference often decides which offense applies:

• Texas: a reckless killing is manslaughter (Penal Code 19.04), a second-degree felony of 2 to 20 years, while a criminally negligent killing is criminally negligent homicide (19.05), a state jail felony of 180 days to 2 years.
• Washington: the two mental states are the two degrees of manslaughter, a class A felony for recklessness and a class B felony for criminal negligence.
• Kentucky: the vocabulary is different. "Wanton" means aware of and consciously disregarding the risk, and a wanton killing is second-degree manslaughter (KRS 507.040), a Class C felony of 5 to 10 years; a "reckless" killing, failing to perceive the risk, is reckless homicide (507.050), a Class D felony of 1 to 5 years (KRS 501.020).
• Pennsylvania: involuntary manslaughter covers an act done "in a reckless or grossly negligent manner" (18 Pa.C.S. 2504), and the state Supreme Court treated the two terms as the equivalent state of mind in Commonwealth v. Huggins (2003).

Kansas recognizes only three culpable mental states, intentionally, knowingly and recklessly, and has no criminally negligent homicide offense (K.S.A. 21-5202). Montana's "negligently" requires a gross deviation from the standard of conduct of a reasonable person, which its code defines as "considerably greater than lack of ordinary care" (45-2-101).

The older unlawful-act form survives in several states. Georgia's involuntary manslaughter includes causing a death without intending to by committing an unlawful act other than a felony (16-5-3(a)), and Ohio's covers a death caused as the proximate result of committing or attempting another offense (R.C. 2903.04). In Nebraska, the state must prove the defendant acted with the required mental state in committing the unlawful act, and the Supreme Court reversed a conviction that rested on traffic infractions it called public welfare offenses (State v. Carman, 2015).

Vehicular and DUI manslaughter by state

Many states prosecute deaths caused by impaired or dangerous driving under offenses written for vehicles, with their own names and grades. Examples from the state pages:

• Florida: DUI manslaughter (Fla. Stat. 316.193(3)(c)3.), a second-degree felony with a 4-year mandatory minimum, and vehicular homicide (782.071) for reckless driving.
• Texas: intoxication manslaughter (Penal Code 49.08), a second-degree felony that becomes first degree in the situations listed in 49.09(b-2).
• California: gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (Penal Code 191.5(a)), 4, 6 or 10 years, or 15 years to life with a qualifying prior conviction.
• New York: vehicular manslaughter in the second degree (Penal Law 125.12, class D), vehicular manslaughter in the first degree (125.13, class C) and aggravated vehicular homicide (125.14, class B).
• Georgia: first-degree homicide by vehicle (O.C.G.A. 40-6-393(a)), 3 to 15 years, for a death caused without malice through DUI, reckless driving and other listed violations.
• Pennsylvania: homicide by vehicle while driving under influence (75 Pa.C.S. 3735), a second-degree felony with a 3-year mandatory minimum.
• North Carolina: felony death by vehicle (G.S. 20-141.4(a1)), a Class D felony, and repeat felony death by vehicle, a Class B2 felony.
• Minnesota: criminal vehicular homicide (609.2112), up to 10 years, or 15 for the impairment forms within 10 years of a qualified prior driving offense.
• Kansas and Virginia: a DUI death is a form of involuntary manslaughter (K.S.A. 21-5405(a)(3); Va. Code 18.2-36.1), with an aggravated form in Virginia carrying 1 to 20 years.
• Illinois and Mississippi: a DUI death is aggravated DUI (625 ILCS 5/11-501(d)(1)(F); Miss. Code 63-11-30(5)(a)).

A few states rely mainly on their general homicide sections. Alaska charges most fatal crashes as manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide or, with extreme indifference to human life, second-degree murder, though texting or screen-device driving that causes a death is a separate class A felony (AS 28.35.161(f)(4)); Kentucky's Chapter 507 has no separate vehicular homicide or DUI manslaughter offense, and Oregon charges most driving deaths under its general homicide sections, with aggravated vehicular homicide (ORS 163.149) for an impaired driver with a previous vehicle-death conviction.

At the other end, some vehicle-death offenses are misdemeanors. The offense Nevada calls vehicular manslaughter (NRS 484B.657), a death caused through simple negligence, carries up to 6 months; Kansas's vehicular homicide (K.S.A. 21-5406) is a class A person misdemeanor; and Ohio's vehicular manslaughter (R.C. 2903.06(A)(4)) is a second-degree misdemeanor (first degree in listed cases). In each of those states, an impaired-driving death falls under a felony instead.

Many states also revoke or suspend the license after a vehicle-death conviction, and leaving the scene of a fatal crash is a separate offense, a felony in many states. For DUI penalties when no one dies, see our guide to DUI laws by state; for leaving the scene, see hit-and-run laws in the United States.

Drug-induced deaths: manslaughter, murder or a separate offense

States treat a death caused by supplying drugs in three different ways.

Filed as manslaughter:

• Alabama: knowingly distributing a controlled substance containing fentanyl, where the recipient dies from using it (13A-6-3(a)(3)); since HB10 (2024), not knowing it contained fentanyl is not a defense.
• Alaska: manufacturing or delivering a schedule IVA substance where another person dies from ingesting it (AS 11.41.120(a)(3)); for offenses on or after January 1, 2025 (HB 66), a death from a delivery in violation of AS 11.71.010 or 11.71.021 is second-degree murder instead (AS 11.41.110(a)(6)).
• Arkansas: a negligent death in the course of a controlled-substance delivery violation (5-10-104(a)(4)), added by Act 599 of 2025 for conduct on or after August 5, 2025.
• Georgia: aggravated involuntary manslaughter (16-5-3.1), created by SB 465 in 2024, for a fentanyl overdose death caused by intentionally manufacturing or selling a substance containing fentanyl after representing it as any controlled substance; 10 to 30 years or life.
• Kentucky: knowingly selling fentanyl that causes the buyer's death is first-degree manslaughter, and distributing it without remuneration is second-degree manslaughter (507.030(1)(d), 507.040(1)(d)), effective July 15, 2024.
• Louisiana: distributing a controlled dangerous substance that significantly contributes to a death (14:31(A)(4), (5)), since June 8, 2025.
• Minnesota: causing a death by unlawfully selling or giving a Schedule III, IV or V substance is first-degree manslaughter (609.20).
• Virginia: a fentanyl-distribution death is involuntary manslaughter (18.2-36.3), effective July 1, 2025.

Filed as murder: Alaska grades a death from a delivery in violation of AS 11.71.010 or 11.71.021 as second-degree murder for offenses on or after January 1, 2025, reduced to a class A felony where the defendant proves the affirmative defense in AS 11.41.110(b). Tennessee grades a death from unlawfully distributing a Schedule I or II drug, fentanyl or carfentanil as second-degree murder, and Texas made certain Penalty Group 1-B delivery deaths murder in 2023 (Penal Code 19.02(b)(4)). For those offenses, see murder laws in the United States.

Separate drug-death offenses: Many states have a stand-alone offense outside the manslaughter statute. Examples include drug-induced homicide in Illinois (720 ILCS 5/9-3.3, a Class X felony) and Idaho (37-2734D, added in 2024); delivery of a controlled substance causing death in Michigan (MCL 750.317a, life or any term of years) and Missouri (579.022, a class A felony since August 28, 2024); strict liability for drug-induced deaths in New Jersey (2C:35-9, first degree); drug delivery resulting in death in Pennsylvania (18 Pa.C.S. 2506, up to 40 years); controlled substances homicide in Washington (RCW 69.50.415, class B); selling or dispensing a regulated drug with death resulting in Vermont (18 V.S.A. 4250, 2 to 20 years); delivering a Schedule IV controlled substance that causes a death in Oregon (ORS 475.752(6), a Class C felony); and fentanyl-induced homicide in South Carolina (16-3-80, up to 30 years, effective May 22, 2025). Wisconsin files these deaths as first-degree reckless homicide (940.02(2)(a)), a Class B felony since 2023 Wisconsin Act 29.

Manslaughter sentencing patterns

The statutory range is only the start. The patterns below recur across the state pages; whether any of them applies in a given case depends on the facts and the state's full sentencing law, which the state pages set out. This section is general information, not legal advice.

Mandatory minimum terms. Several states set floors that a court cannot go below:

• Florida: 4 years for DUI manslaughter (316.193) and, since July 1, 2025 (ch. 2025-197), BUI manslaughter.
• Oregon: Measure 11 (ORS 137.700) requires 120 months for first-degree manslaughter, 75 months for second-degree manslaughter and 240 months for aggravated vehicular homicide.
• Massachusetts: OUI manslaughter (c. 265, s. 13 1/2) carries 5 to 20 years, with no probation, parole or furlough until 5 years are served.
• Idaho: DUI vehicular manslaughter carries a fixed minimum of 5 years after one prior DUI finding and 10 years after two or more (18-4007(3)(b), since July 1, 2025).
• North Dakota: criminal vehicular homicide carries at least 3 years, or 10 after a prior DUI or reckless-driving conviction (39-08-01.2).

Percentage-served and no-parole rules. A conviction can limit early release:

• 85 percent: Arkansas (restricted release felonies committed on or after January 1, 2025), Kentucky (violent offenders, KRS 439.3401), New Jersey (No Early Release Act, 2C:43-7.2), North Dakota (12.1-32-09.1), Oklahoma (first-degree manslaughter, 21 O.S. 13.1) and South Carolina (no-parole offenses such as voluntary manslaughter).
• Tennessee: for offenses on or after July 1, 2022, voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, criminally negligent homicide and vehicular homicide are served at 100 percent, with up to 15 percent off for program credits, and intoxication and aggravated vehicular homicide carry no release eligibility at all (40-35-501(bb), (cc)).
• South Dakota: for crimes on or after July 1, 2023 (SL 2023, ch 80, amended by SL 2025, ch 104), first-degree manslaughter is parole-ineligible, except as provided in 24-15A-55 to 24-15A-68, and served in full, and second-degree manslaughter and vehicular homicide carry the same parole bar, with discharge credits of up to 15 percent; the court keeps discretion to suspend part of the sentence (24-15-4.1, 24-15-4.2).
• Delaware: no Level V sentence imposed under 11 Del. C. 4205 is subject to parole (4205(j)).

Habitual-offender enhancements. Prior felonies can multiply the range:

• Alabama: one prior Class A, B or C felony means a Class B manslaughter is punished as a Class A felony (13A-5-9(a)(2)).
• Alaska: a class A felony with two or more prior most serious felonies requires a definite 99-year term (AS 12.55.125(l)).
• Pennsylvania: voluntary manslaughter after a prior crime of violence carries at least 10 years, and at least 25 after two or more (42 Pa.C.S. 9714).
• Massachusetts: manslaughter after two qualifying prior convictions brings the maximum term without parole or probation (c. 279, s. 25(b)).
• Vermont: a person with three prior felony convictions can be sentenced to up to life (13 V.S.A. 11).

Firearm add-ons. Using a gun can raise the floor or add time:

• Alabama: a Class B or C felony in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used carries at least 10 years (13A-5-6(a)(6)).
• Connecticut: first-degree manslaughter with a firearm (53a-55a) carries 5 to 40 years with 5 years that cannot be suspended or reduced, and 53-202k adds a consecutive, nonsuspendable 5 years to a class A, B or C felony committed with a firearm.
• Arkansas: the court may add up to 15 consecutive years when a firearm was employed (16-90-120).
• Maine: if the State pleads and proves that a Class A crime was committed with the use of a firearm against an individual, the minimum is 4 years, not suspendable (17-A M.R.S. 1604(3)).
• North Dakota: where firearm or dangerous-weapon possession is charged and admitted or found true in the listed circumstances, the minimum is 4 years for manslaughter, served without parole (12.1-32-02.1).

Federal manslaughter (18 U.S.C. 1112)

Federal manslaughter is a narrow offense. Its penalties apply "Within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States" (18 U.S.C. 1112(b)), which includes federal enclaves such as land reserved or acquired for federal use under exclusive or concurrent federal jurisdiction, certain waters outside any state's jurisdiction, and certain U.S. vessels and aircraft (18 U.S.C. 7). Under the Major Crimes Act, an Indian who commits manslaughter in Indian country is subject to the same law and penalties (18 U.S.C. 1153), and 18 U.S.C. 1152 extends the federal enclave laws to Indian country generally. Other federal statutes adopt the 1112 penalties outside those places: killing an officer or employee of the United States engaged in, or on account of, official duties is punished as manslaughter under 1112, with extraterritorial jurisdiction (18 U.S.C. 1114). Ordinary killings, including vehicle deaths on state roads, are state crimes.

• Penalties (federal): voluntary manslaughter carries up to 15 years and involuntary manslaughter up to 8 years, a fine, or both (1112(b)). Attempted manslaughter carries up to 7 years (1113).
• Federal class and fine: by maximum term, 15 years is a Class C felony and 8 years a Class D felony (18 U.S.C. 3559(a)); the felony fine for an individual can reach $250,000 (3571(b)(3)).
• Sentencing Guidelines (federal): voluntary manslaughter has a base offense level of 29 (USSG 2A1.3). Involuntary manslaughter starts at 12 for criminally negligent conduct, 18 for reckless conduct and 22 for the reckless operation of a means of transportation (USSG 2A1.4). The commentary says a death caused by driving under the influence "ordinarily should be treated as reckless."
• Unborn victims (federal): causing the death of a child in utero through conduct that violates 1112 is a separate offense under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (18 U.S.C. 1841).

Recent changes to manslaughter laws (2023 to 2026)

A selection of significant changes from the state pages, in date order. An offense is sentenced under the law in force when it was committed, so a change applies only to conduct on or after its effective date.

• Tennessee, July 1, 2023: Public Chapter 308 raised voluntary manslaughter from a Class C to a Class B felony (8 to 30 years).
• Texas, September 1, 2023: S.B. 947 added a first-degree form of manslaughter for a death caused by a critical-infrastructure offense, and H.B. 6 graded certain drug-delivery deaths as murder.
• Arkansas, January 1, 2024: Act 659 of 2023 made manslaughter a Class B felony (from Class C); its 85 percent release rule applies to offenses on or after January 1, 2025.
• Wisconsin, March 29, 2024: 2023 Wisconsin Act 226 raised fleeing an officer resulting in death (346.17(3)(d)) from a Class E to a Class D felony.
• Kentucky, July 15, 2024: 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 174 (House Bill 5) added fentanyl-sale and fentanyl-distribution forms of first- and second-degree manslaughter.
• Minnesota, August 1, 2024: a bar on panic-based defenses applies to crimes on or after this date.
• Missouri, August 28, 2024: Senate Bill 754 created aggravated fleeing a stop causing death (Valentine's Law) and delivery of a controlled substance causing death, both class A felonies.
• Alaska, January 1, 2025: HB 66 (ch. 11 SLA 2024) made a death from a delivery in violation of AS 11.71.010 or 11.71.021 second-degree murder instead of manslaughter, narrowing manslaughter (a)(3) to schedule IVA deliveries.
• Michigan, April 2, 2025: MCL 768.21d, added by 2024 Public Act 87, barred evidence of a victim's sex, gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation to show provocation or heat of passion.
• Ohio, April 9, 2025: House Bill 37 restructured the OVI tiers of aggravated vehicular homicide, so one prior OVI offense within 20 years makes it a first-degree felony.
• South Carolina, May 22, 2025: Act No. 61 created fentanyl-induced homicide (16-3-80).
• Nebraska, 2025: LB530, approved June 4, 2025, made the driving ban and licence revocation for DUI or revoked-driver motor vehicle homicide (28-306(3)(b), (c)) a mandatory 15 years, and raised the matching unborn-child offense (28-394) to a Class IIA felony, or Class II with a prior.
• Louisiana, June 8, 2025: Act 169 added the drug-distribution forms of manslaughter (14:31(A)(4), (5)).
• Idaho, July 1, 2025: Senate Bill 1099 added 5- and 10-year fixed minimums for DUI vehicular manslaughter by repeat offenders.
• South Dakota, July 1, 2025: Senate Bill 8 (SL 2025, ch 92) created watercraft homicide (22-16-43), a Class 3 felony for an impaired boating death.
• Virginia, July 1, 2025: 2025 Acts chapters 719 and 721 made a fentanyl-distribution death involuntary manslaughter (18.2-36.3).
• Arkansas, August 5, 2025: Act 599 of 2025 added a negligent death in the course of a controlled-substance delivery violation to manslaughter (5-10-104(a)(4)).
• Texas, September 1, 2025: S.B. 745 and H.B. 2017 (Grayson's Law) each added first-degree triggers for intoxication manslaughter.
• Florida, October 1, 2025: Trenton's Law (ch. 2025-121) made DUI manslaughter, BUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and vessel homicide first-degree felonies after a prior conviction for any of them.
• Montana, October 1, 2025: HB 267 created aggravated vehicular homicide while under the influence (45-5-107), 3 to 30 years.
• Pennsylvania, December 22, 2025: Act 58 of 2025 added a first-degree tier of homicide by vehicle while DUI for a DUI within 10 years after an ARD diversion.
• Nevada, January 1, 2026: AB 4 raised the term for a DUI death to 2 to 25 years, or 5 to 25 years with one or two prior offenses.
• South Carolina, May 12, 2026: 2025 Act No. 38 raised the maximum for failure to stop for a law enforcement vehicle resulting in death from 25 to 30 years (56-5-750(C)(2)).
• West Virginia, June 9, 2026: Senate Bill 137 raised voluntary manslaughter to a definite term of 5 to 25 years.
• Florida, June 16, 2026: the Officer Jason Raynor Act (ch. 2026-144) requires life without release for manslaughter of a listed law enforcement or correctional officer.
• Alaska, July 1, 2026: HB 239 (ch. 9 SLA 2026) made failing to render reasonable assistance in an accident resulting in death a class A felony (AS 28.35.060(d)).
• Louisiana, August 1, 2026: Act 466 (Senate Bill 156) raised the negligent homicide maximum from 10 to 15 years, and Act 349 added a two-year minimum for aggravated flight causing serious bodily injury.
• Missouri, August 28, 2026: House Bill 1740 made a criminally negligent DWI death a class B felony with a 5-year minimum, with a class A tier carrying a 10-year minimum.
• Alabama, October 1, 2026: Act 2026-64 made a DUI or BUI death a form of manslaughter (13A-6-3(a)(4)), a Class B felony, and raised leaving the scene of a crash involving serious physical injury or death from a Class C to a Class B felony (32-10-6(a)(3)).

Two scheduled changes are on the books. In New York, a version of Penal Law 70.02 marked effective September 1, 2027 makes sentences for class B and C violent felonies, including first-degree manslaughter, indeterminate. In the District of Columbia, a change to the negligent homicide statute replacing "a pedestrian" with "any person" is scheduled to apply as of January 1, 2027.

Related guides

• DUI laws by state
• Felony classes by state
• Self-defense laws by state
• Wrongful death laws by state
• Hit-and-run laws in the United States
• First, second and third degree manslaughter explained
• The difference between murder, homicide and manslaughter

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about manslaughter laws in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and federal law as of October 17, 2026. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in the relevant state.

Last updated: October 18, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is manslaughter?

Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice (18 U.S.C. 1112(a); Cal. Penal Code 192). It is less serious than murder, which requires malice aforethought, and each state defines its own manslaughter offenses and sentences.

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter?

Voluntary manslaughter is generally an intentional killing in the heat of passion after adequate provocation. Involuntary manslaughter is an unintended killing caused by reckless or criminally negligent conduct, or during an unlawful act that is not a felony. States use different labels for the same ideas, and the state pages give each state's wording.

Is manslaughter a felony?

The main manslaughter offenses are felonies in most states, but some forms are not. Georgia's lawful-act involuntary manslaughter and West Virginia's involuntary manslaughter are misdemeanors, Pennsylvania's involuntary manslaughter is a first-degree misdemeanor unless the victim is under 12 and in the person's care, one form of Iowa's involuntary manslaughter is an aggravated misdemeanor, and the offenses Nevada and Ohio call vehicular manslaughter are misdemeanors.

How long is a manslaughter sentence?

It depends on the state and the form. Statutory maximums for the main offense include 10 years in Maryland and Virginia, 20 years in Wyoming and, for most manslaughter cases, Texas, 30 years in Maine and Rhode Island, and life for first-degree manslaughter in South Dakota and Washington. Mandatory minimums, percentage-served rules and repeat-offender laws can change the time served.

Which states have degrees of manslaughter?

Connecticut, Kentucky, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington grade manslaughter in a first and second degree. Missouri has first- and second-degree involuntary manslaughter, New Jersey has aggravated manslaughter and manslaughter, and Pennsylvania grades manslaughter of a law enforcement officer in a first and second degree (18 Pa.C.S. 2507(c), (d)).

What is vehicular or DUI manslaughter?

It is a death caused by driving, often while impaired. Many states have a separate offense for it, such as DUI manslaughter in Florida (316.193), intoxication manslaughter in Texas (Penal Code 49.08) and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in California (Penal Code 191.5). Others treat it as a form of manslaughter or homicide by vehicle.

Is DUI manslaughter a mandatory prison sentence?

In some states, yes. Florida sets a 4-year mandatory minimum for DUI manslaughter, Pennsylvania a 3-year minimum for homicide by vehicle while DUI, and Delaware a 2-year minimum for first-degree vehicular homicide. Other states leave the term to the court within the statutory range.

What is the federal sentence for manslaughter?

Under 18 U.S.C. 1112(b), voluntary manslaughter carries up to 15 years and involuntary manslaughter up to 8 years, a fine, or both. Its penalties apply within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States and in Indian country (18 U.S.C. 1152, 1153), and other federal statutes adopt them, such as 18 U.S.C. 1114 for killing a federal officer or employee on duty.

Which states ban the gay or trans panic defense?

California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia have statutes barring a provocation or mitigation claim based on the victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. Connecticut and Washington limit related defenses in other ways.

Can an overdose death be charged as manslaughter?

In some states. Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Virginia file certain fentanyl or drug-distribution deaths as manslaughter, Tennessee grades them as second-degree murder, and states such as Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have separate drug-death offenses.