Manslaughter in Alabama: Sentences, DUI Deaths and Homicide by Vehicle

Alabama has a single manslaughter offense, Ala. Code 13A-6-3, which covers recklessly causing the death of another individual, an otherwise-murderous killing done in a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, a death caused by distributing fentanyl, and, for offenses on or after October 1, 2026, a death caused by driving or boating under the influence. Manslaughter is a Class B felony punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison; below it, criminally negligent homicide (13A-6-4) is a Class A misdemeanor and homicide by vehicle (32-5A-190.1) is a Class C felony.

For the rules in other states, see our guide to manslaughter laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-18. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers the Alabama statutes on homicide below murder: manslaughter (Ala. Code 13A-6-3), criminally negligent homicide (13A-6-4), homicide by vehicle (32-5A-190.1), the homicide definitions in 13A-6-1, and the sentencing and traffic statutes that grade a death. It does not cover murder sentencing (see how long a life sentence is in Alabama and our overview of murder sentencing guidelines), self-defense (see Alabama self-defense laws), civil lawsuits by surviving family (see Alabama wrongful death law), or federal offenses, which the manslaughter laws hub covers.

What is manslaughter in Alabama?

Section 13A-6-3 defines one crime with four alternative forms. As amended by Act 2026-64, effective October 1, 2026, subsection (a) reads in part:

"(a) A person commits the crime of manslaughter if he or she does any of the following: (1) Recklessly causes the death of another individual. (2) Causes the death of another individual under circumstances that would constitute murder under Section 13A-6-2; except, that he or she causes the death due to a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, and before a reasonable time for the passion to cool and for reason to reassert itself. ... (4) Drives or operates a motor vehicle or vessel in violation of Section 32-5A-191 or 32-5A-191.3, and causes the death of another individual. (b) Manslaughter is a Class B felony." Ala. Code 13A-6-3

The third form, (a)(3), covers fentanyl distribution and is discussed below. All four forms carry the same grade.

The homicide definitions in 13A-6-1 frame the ladder. "Criminal homicide" means "Murder, manslaughter, or criminally negligent homicide," and a person commits criminal homicide "if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence causes the death of another person" (13A-6-1(a)(1)-(2)). The homicide article of Chapter 6 runs from 13A-6-1 through 13A-6-4; the assault article begins at 13A-6-20.

Alabama does not use the labels voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, and it has no degrees of manslaughter. The heat-of-passion form, (a)(2), is the provision that deals with what other states call voluntary manslaughter. Unintended deaths fall under the reckless form, (a)(1), or, where the mental state is criminal negligence, the separate misdemeanor in 13A-6-4.

Alabama manslaughter and homicide offenses at a glance

The class ranges come from Ala. Code 13A-5-6(a), which sets a Class B felony at "not more than 20 years or less than two years" and a Class C felony at "not more than 10 years or less than one year and one day." Felony fines are capped by 13A-5-11(a): not more than $30,000 for a Class B felony and not more than $15,000 for a Class C felony, or as an alternative "Any amount not exceeding double the pecuniary gain to the defendant or loss to the victim." For a Class A misdemeanor, 13A-5-7(a)(1) sets "not more than one year" and 13A-5-12(a)(1) a fine of "not more than $6,000." For the full picture, see how Alabama sentences each felony class.

Heat of passion: when a killing is manslaughter instead of murder

Alabama's provocation rule appears twice in the Code, in the murder statute and in the manslaughter statute. The murder statute, 13A-6-2(b), says:

"(b) A person does not commit murder under subdivisions (a)(1) or (a)(2) of this section if he or she was moved to act by a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, and before there had been a reasonable time for the passion to cool and for reason to reassert itself. The burden of injecting the issue of killing under legal provocation is on the defendant, but this does not shift the burden of proof. This subsection does not apply to a prosecution for, or preclude a conviction of, manslaughter or other crime." Ala. Code 13A-6-2(b)

The manslaughter statute then makes that same killing a Class B felony under 13A-6-3(a)(2). Three elements recur in both texts: a sudden heat of passion, provocation "recognized by law," and a killing before a reasonable time for the passion to cool and for reason to reassert itself. The defendant carries the burden of raising the issue, but the prosecution's burden of proof does not shift.

The statutes do not list which provocations the law recognizes; Alabama courts supply that. In Speake v. State, 610 So. 2d 1238 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992), the Court of Criminal Appeals held there was "no evidence of legal provocation" where the claimed provocation was a spouse's statements, quoting an earlier decision:

"The well established rule in Alabama is that mere words, no matter how insulting or abusive, cannot reduce a killing to manslaughter." Speake v. State, 610 So. 2d 1238 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992), quoting Biggs v. State, 441 So. 2d 989, 992 (Ala. Crim. App. 1983)

The same opinion notes that witnessing an act of adultery "is recognized as legal provocation" in Alabama, while "mere admissions of infidelity do not constitute legal provocation."

Panic defense. Alabama has no statute barring a defense based on a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. The provocation text in 13A-6-3(a)(2) and 13A-6-2(b) contains no exclusion for any category of provocation.

Self-defense and other justifications are a separate question from provocation; see Alabama self-defense laws.

Reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide

The difference between a Class B felony and a Class A misdemeanor for an unintended death turns on the mental state. Alabama's code-wide definitions in 13A-2-2 draw the line as awareness of the risk.

Recklessly (13A-2-2(3)): a person acts recklessly "when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists." The risk must be such that disregarding it "constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation." A person who creates a risk but is unaware of it solely because of voluntary intoxication "acts recklessly with respect thereto."

Criminal negligence (13A-2-2(4)): a person acts with criminal negligence when he "fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists," where the failure to perceive it "constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation."

So a reckless killing, where the person was aware of the risk and disregarded it, is manslaughter under 13A-6-3(a)(1). A killing where the person failed to perceive the risk is criminally negligent homicide:

"(a) A person commits the crime of criminally negligent homicide if he or she causes the death of another individual by criminal negligence. (b) The jury may consider statutes and ordinances regulating the actor's conduct in determining whether the actor is culpably negligent under subsection (a). (c) Criminally negligent homicide is a Class A misdemeanor." Ala. Code 13A-6-4

For criminal negligence, both the definition and the homicide statute let the court or jury consider statutes and ordinances that regulate the conduct (13A-2-2(4); 13A-6-4(b)).

Fentanyl distribution causing death

Alabama files a fentanyl-distribution death as manslaughter, not murder. Section 13A-6-3(a)(3)a. covers a person who:

"Knowingly sells, furnishes, gives away, delivers, or distributes a controlled substance in violation of Section 13A-12-211, which contains fentanyl, any mixture containing fentanyl, any synthetic controlled substance fentanyl, or any synthetic controlled substance fentanyl analogue as described in Sections 20-2-23 and 20-2-25, and the individual to whom the controlled substance is sold, furnished, given, delivered, or distributed dies as a proximate result of the use of the controlled substance." Ala. Code 13A-6-3(a)(3)a.

The subdivision adds: "Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to apply to a licensed physician engaged in the practice of medicine, a licensed pharmacist engaged in the practice of pharmacy, or a licensed dentist engaged in the practice of dentistry." Subdivision (a)(3)b. adds: "It is not a defense to this subdivision that the person who sold, furnished, gave away, delivered, or distributed the controlled substance had no knowledge that the controlled substance contained fentanyl" or a fentanyl mixture or analogue. The offense is a Class B felony like every other form of manslaughter.

Vehicular manslaughter, DUI deaths and homicide by vehicle in Alabama

Alabama has no offense named vehicular manslaughter. A death caused by driving can be charged under several statutes, depending on whether the driver was impaired, what traffic rule was broken and what the driver's mental state was. The main ones are DUI manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, reckless manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

DUI and BUI manslaughter (13A-6-3(a)(4))

Act 2026-64 (SB169), the Devinee Rooney and John Wesley Holt Safe Streets Act, amended 13A-6-3, 13A-6-4 and 32-10-6 and provides that "This act shall become effective on October 1, 2026." It added subdivision (a)(4) to the manslaughter statute: a person who "Drives or operates a motor vehicle or vessel in violation of Section 32-5A-191 or 32-5A-191.3, and causes the death of another individual" commits manslaughter, a Class B felony.

The predicate offenses are Alabama's DUI and boating-under-the-influence statutes. Under 32-5A-191(a), a person may not drive or be in actual physical control of a vehicle while:

• there is 0.08 percent or more by weight of alcohol in his or her blood;
• under the influence of alcohol;
• under the influence of a controlled substance to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving;
• under the combined influence of alcohol and a controlled substance to that degree; or
• under the influence of any substance which impairs the mental or physical faculties to that degree.

Section 32-5A-191 also sets lower alcohol limits for some drivers: 0.02 percent or more for a driver under 21 (32-5A-191(b)), more than 0.02 percent for a school bus or day care driver while on duty (32-5A-191(c)(1)), and 0.04 percent or more for a driver of a commercial motor vehicle (32-5A-191(c)(2)).

Section 32-5A-191.3(a) applies the same conditions to operating or being in actual physical control of "any vessel," or manipulating "any water skis, aquaplane, or any other marine transportation device on the waters of this state."

Offenses before October 1, 2026. Offenses committed before the effective date are graded under the former text. Before Act 2026-64, Alabama had no DUI-specific manslaughter form: an impaired driver or boat operator who caused a death recklessly committed manslaughter under 13A-6-3(a)(1), a Class B felony, and one who caused it by criminal negligence committed criminally negligent homicide, graded by former 13A-6-4(c): "Criminally negligent homicide is a Class A misdemeanor, except in cases in which the criminally negligent homicide is caused by the driver or operator of a vehicle or vessel who is driving or operating the vehicle or vessel in violation of Section 32-5A-191 or 32-5A-191.3; in these cases, criminally negligent homicide is a Class C felony." The act struck that exception, so 13A-6-4 now reads simply "Criminally negligent homicide is a Class A misdemeanor."

For DUI penalties where no one dies, see Alabama DUI laws.

Homicide by vehicle (32-5A-190.1)

Homicide by vehicle covers deaths caused by traffic violations other than DUI:

"(a) A person who causes the death of another person while knowingly engaged in the violation of Title 32, Chapter 5A, excluding Section 32-5A-191, applying to the operation or use of a vehicle, as defined in Section 32-1-1.1, may be guilty of homicide by vehicle when the violation is the proximate cause of the death. (b) A person convicted of homicide by vehicle under subsection (a) is guilty of a Class C felony." Ala. Code 32-5A-190.1

Two limits come from that text: the driver must be "knowingly engaged" in the traffic violation, and the violation must be "the proximate cause of the death." The earlier homicide by vehicle or vessel statute, 32-5A-192, was repealed by Act 2014-427, effective July 1, 2014.

Reckless driving under 32-5A-190(a) is driving "carelessly and heedlessly in willful or wanton disregard for the rights or safety of persons or property, or without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property." It is a separate traffic offense from the homicide statutes above.

Other driving deaths graded as Class B felonies

• Leaving the scene. A violation of the crash-duty statutes, 32-10-1 through 32-10-5, "involving serious physical injury or death" is a Class B felony (32-10-6(a)(3)) for offenses on or after October 1, 2026, when Act 2026-64 created that tier. Before that date, a violation involving death or personal injury was a Class C felony. See Alabama hit-and-run laws.
• Fleeing or eluding. Eluding a law enforcement officer is a Class B felony if "The flight or attempt to elude causes serious physical injury or death to any other person" (13A-10-52), and the court must suspend the driver license "for a period of not less than six months nor more than two years" (13A-10-52(d)(1)). Act 2023-489 created that Class B tier.
• Speed contests and sideshows. If a violation of 13A-11-300(b) "proximately causes death to any person," it is a Class B felony, and "the court shall prohibit the person from operating a motor vehicle on the public highways of this state for not less than two years" (13A-11-300(d)(3)).
• Move Over Act. If a Move Over Act violation is the proximate cause of a collision with an authorized emergency vehicle, wrecker or other covered vehicle and "the collision results in the death of any individual, the driver shall be guilty of a Class B felony" (32-5A-58.2(d)(3)).

License revocation

Section 32-5A-195(j)(1) provides that the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency "shall revoke the license of any driver upon receiving a record of the driver's conviction" of "Manslaughter or homicide by vehicle resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle." That subsection does not itself state the revocation period.

Boats

A boating-under-the-influence death is manslaughter under 13A-6-3(a)(4) for offenses on or after October 1, 2026. Reckless operation of a vessel under 33-5-70 is a Class A misdemeanor with a fine of not less than $150, and that section sets no separate grade for a death.

Unborn victims

Alabama does not have a separate unborn-victim homicide ladder. Instead, its homicide definitions extend every homicide offense to an unborn child: for the victim of a criminal homicide or assault, "person" means "a human being, including an unborn child in utero at any stage of development, regardless of viability" (13A-6-1(a)(3)). The definition has limits. The homicide article does not apply to an unborn child's death caused by medication or medical care provided to a pregnant woman by a physician or other licensed health care provider (13A-6-1(b)); a victim of domestic violence or sexual assault may not be charged for the death of an unborn child caused by a crime of domestic violence or rape perpetrated upon her (13A-6-1(c)); and the article does not permit prosecution for consented abortion conduct or of "any woman with respect to her unborn child" (13A-6-1(d)).

Other offenses graded by a resulting death

• Chemical endangerment of a child resulting in the death of the child: Class A felony (26-15-3.2(a)(3)).
• Owner of a dog previously declared dangerous by a court that, when unjustified, attacks and causes serious physical injury or death: Class B felony, 2 to 20 years (3-6A-5(a)).
• Owner of a dog not declared dangerous, with prior knowledge of its dangerous propensities and reckless disregard of them, when the dog causes serious physical injury or death: Class C felony, 1 year and 1 day to 10 years (3-6A-5(b)).
• Deliberately assisting another person to commit suicide or providing aid in dying: Class C felony, 1 year and 1 day to 10 years (22-8B-4(a)).

Sentencing: weapons, repeat offenders, split sentences and parole

Firearm or deadly weapon. Section 13A-5-6(a)(6) sets a sentence of "not less than 10 years" for "a Class B or C felony in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony." For a manslaughter in which a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used, the minimum is therefore 10 years rather than 2.

Habitual felony offenders. Under 13A-5-9(a)(2), when a defendant previously convicted of a Class A, B or C felony commits another such felony, "On conviction of a Class B felony, he or she must be punished for a Class A felony." With two prior felony convictions, a Class B conviction must be "punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not more than 99 years but not less than 15 years" (13A-5-9(b)(2)). With three prior felony convictions, a Class B conviction must be "punished by imprisonment for life or for any term of not less than 20 years" (13A-5-9(c)(2)). Act 2026-496 (HB226), effective October 1, 2026, added 13A-5-9(f): a conviction based on a plea of nolo contendere, a plea of no contest, a best interests plea or an Alford plea "shall be treated in the same manner as a conviction based on a plea of guilty unless any of the foregoing pleas has been expunged."

Split sentences. For a Class A or Class B felony with a sentence of 30 years or less, 15-18-8(a) allows the judge to order a split sentence. Where the sentence is not more than 15 years, the confinement portion may not exceed three years, with the rest suspended and probation ordered. Where the sentence is greater than 15 years but not more than 20, the confinement portion is three to five years. The statute says the judge "may order" a split sentence, so it is discretionary.

Good time and parole. A prisoner convicted of "any crime that caused the death of another person by means of a deadly weapon," or sentenced to more than 15 years, may not receive correctional incentive time (14-9-41(e)(1)). For prisoners not on the incentive-time schedule and not convicted of the Class A felonies listed in 15-22-28(e)(2), the initial parole consideration date is set after completion of one-third of the sentence or 10 years, whichever is less (15-22-28(e)(3)).

Registration. Alabama's offender registry under the Community Notification Act (Title 15, Chapter 20A) covers sex offenses. The definitions in 15-20A-4 and the list of offenses in 15-20A-5 name no manslaughter or homicide offense; a killing could still involve a registrable sex offense under that offense's own elements.

Recent changes to Alabama's manslaughter laws

• Act 2026-64 (SB169), effective October 1, 2026: added DUI and BUI deaths to manslaughter as 13A-6-3(a)(4), a Class B felony; removed the Class C felony exception for impaired drivers from criminally negligent homicide (13A-6-4(c)); changed "person" to "individual" in the manslaughter text; 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)), leaving a violation involving physical injury a Class C felony. Offenses committed before October 1, 2026 are graded under the former text.
• HB10 (2024 Regular Session), effective immediately on approval: added 13A-6-3(a)(3)b., under which not knowing that the controlled substance contained fentanyl is not a defense to fentanyl-distribution manslaughter.
• Act 2026-496 (HB226), effective October 1, 2026: amended the habitual offender law, 13A-5-9, so that a prior conviction based on a nolo contendere, no contest, best interests or Alford plea counts the same as one based on a guilty plea unless expunged (13A-5-9(f)).
• Act 2026-382 (SB233), effective October 1, 2026: amended the eluding statute, 13A-10-52, "to include various conditions under which the crime of eluding or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer is subject to heightened criminal penalties" and "to provide certain mandatory minimum penalties for multiple convictions."
• Act 2024-295 (HB315), effective October 1, 2024: increased Move Over Act penalties in 32-5A-58.2, including the Class B felony for a collision that results in a death.
• Act 2023-489 (HB272): created the Class B felony tier for eluding that causes serious physical injury or death. It took effect on the first day of the third month after the Governor's approval.
• Act 2023-174 (HB29): created the speed contest and sideshow offense in 13A-11-300, including the Class B felony for a death. It took effect on the first day of the third month after the Governor's approval.

Federal law

Federal law, 18 U.S.C. 1112, separately covers manslaughter within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States; our manslaughter laws hub explains the federal layer.

Related

• Manslaughter laws by state
• Alabama felony and misdemeanor classes
• Alabama DUI laws
• Alabama hit-and-run laws
• Alabama self-defense laws
• The difference between murder, homicide and manslaughter
• Georgia manslaughter laws
• Mississippi manslaughter laws

This article provides general legal information about Alabama law as of 2026-10-18. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Alabama.

Last updated: 2026-10-18.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is manslaughter a felony in Alabama?

Yes. Every form of manslaughter under Ala. Code 13A-6-3 is a Class B felony (13A-6-3(b)), punishable by 2 to 20 years and a fine of up to $30,000. Criminally negligent homicide (13A-6-4) is a Class A misdemeanor, and homicide by vehicle (32-5A-190.1) is a Class C felony.

What is the sentence for manslaughter in Alabama?

Not more than 20 years or less than 2 years (13A-5-6(a)(2)), plus a fine of up to $30,000 (13A-5-11(a)(2)). The minimum rises to 10 years where a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used (13A-5-6(a)(6)), and a defendant who commits it after a prior Class A, B or C felony conviction must be punished for a Class A felony (13A-5-9(a)(2)).

Does Alabama have voluntary and involuntary manslaughter?

Not by those names. Alabama has one manslaughter offense (13A-6-3) whose heat-of-passion form covers an otherwise-murderous killing done in a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, and whose reckless form covers a death caused recklessly. A death caused by criminal negligence is the separate misdemeanor of criminally negligent homicide (13A-6-4).

What is the charge for a DUI death in Alabama?

For offenses on or after October 1, 2026, driving or operating a motor vehicle or vessel in violation of 32-5A-191 or 32-5A-191.3 and causing the death of another individual is manslaughter under 13A-6-3(a)(4), a Class B felony. Before that date, an impaired driver or vessel operator who caused a death by criminal negligence committed criminally negligent homicide, a Class C felony under the former 13A-6-4(c), and one who caused it recklessly committed manslaughter under 13A-6-3(a)(1), a Class B felony.

What is homicide by vehicle in Alabama?

Under 32-5A-190.1, a person who causes the death of another person while knowingly engaged in a violation of Title 32, Chapter 5A (other than the DUI statute, 32-5A-191), where the violation is the proximate cause of the death, may be guilty of homicide by vehicle, a Class C felony (1 year and 1 day to 10 years).

Is selling fentanyl that causes a death manslaughter in Alabama?

Section 13A-6-3(a)(3) makes it manslaughter, a Class B felony, to knowingly sell, furnish, give away, deliver or distribute a controlled substance in violation of 13A-12-211 that contains fentanyl when the person who receives it dies as a proximate result of using it. Under 13A-6-3(a)(3)b., not knowing that the drug contained fentanyl is not a defense. The subdivision does not apply to a licensed physician, pharmacist or dentist engaged in practice.

Can insulting words reduce murder to manslaughter in Alabama?

No. In Speake v. State, 610 So. 2d 1238 (Ala. Crim. App. 1992), the court restated the rule that mere words, no matter how insulting or abusive, cannot reduce a killing to manslaughter. The statutory test is a sudden heat of passion caused by provocation recognized by law, before a reasonable time for the passion to cool (13A-6-3(a)(2)).

Does a manslaughter conviction affect a driver's license in Alabama?

Yes, when the manslaughter or homicide by vehicle resulted from operating a motor vehicle. Section 32-5A-195(j)(1) directs the Secretary of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to revoke the license on receiving a record of that conviction.