Kentucky Manslaughter Laws: First and Second Degree (2026)

Kentucky grades manslaughter in two degrees. Manslaughter in the first degree (KRS 507.030) is a Class B felony, 10 to 20 years, and covers four kinds of death, including an intentional killing under extreme emotional disturbance; manslaughter in the second degree (KRS 507.040) is wantonly causing a death, including by operating a motor vehicle, a Class C felony with a range of 5 to 10 years. Reckless homicide (KRS 507.050) is a Class D felony, 1 to 5 years, and every homicide offense below murder in Chapter 507 is a felony. For other states, see our guide to manslaughter laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-17. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Kentucky's manslaughter and reckless homicide statutes (KRS 507.030, 507.040 and 507.050), the fetal homicide offenses below murder in KRS Chapter 507A, the related definitions in KRS 501.020, 507.010 and 507.020, and the sentencing and release statutes in KRS Chapters 439, 532, 533 and 534. It does not cover murder (see how long a life sentence lasts in Kentucky), whether a killing was justified (see Kentucky self-defense laws), civil suits by a family (see Kentucky wrongful death claims), DUI penalties when no one dies, or federal offenses, which the manslaughter hub covers.

What is manslaughter in Kentucky?

KRS 507.010(2) defines criminal homicide as causing a death "under circumstances which constitute murder, manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree, or reckless homicide." Below murder, Chapter 507 has three offenses, separated mainly by mental state (the death of an unborn child is graded separately in Chapter 507A, below):

• Manslaughter in the first degree (KRS 507.030): a death caused with intent to cause serious physical injury, an intentional killing under extreme emotional disturbance, a death of a child 12 or under or a physically or mentally helpless person caused by intentional abuse or neglect (or by knowingly permitting it, with actual custody), or a death caused by knowingly selling fentanyl (effective July 15, 2024).
• Manslaughter in the second degree (KRS 507.040): wantonly causing a death.
• Reckless homicide (KRS 507.050): causing a death with recklessness.

Kentucky manslaughter offenses at a glance

The prison ranges are the authorized terms for each felony class in KRS 532.060(2), which apply "unless otherwise provided by law." The fine comes from KRS 534.030(1) and is imposed in addition to any other punishment, but under KRS 534.030(4) it "shall not be imposed upon any person determined by the court to be indigent." Our page on how Kentucky sentences each felony class covers the class system beyond homicide.

Is manslaughter a felony in Kentucky, and what is the sentence?

Yes. Every homicide offense below murder in Chapter 507 is a felony: manslaughter in the first degree is a Class B felony (KRS 507.030(2)), manslaughter in the second degree is a Class C felony (KRS 507.040(2)), and reckless homicide is a Class D felony (KRS 507.050(2)). Chapter 507 has no misdemeanor homicide grade.

Under KRS 532.060(2), the authorized terms are:

• Class B felony: "not less than ten (10) years nor more than twenty (20) years"
• Class C felony: "not less than five (5) years nor more than ten (10) years"
• Class D felony: "not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years"

The 85 percent rule for violent offenders

KRS 439.3401(1)(b)1. defines a "violent offender" to include a person convicted of or who pled guilty to "a felony involving the death of the victim or serious physical injury to a victim." Under subsection (4), "a violent offender with a sentence of a term of years shall not be released on probation, shock probation, parole, conditional discharge, or other form of early release until he or she has served at least eighty-five percent (85%) of the sentence imposed." Subsection (7) limits the section to offenses committed after July 15, 1998. Under subsection (6), the section does not apply to a person a court has determined was a victim of domestic violence or abuse under KRS 533.060, with regard to the offenses involving the death of the victim or serious physical injury to the victim.

Probation bar when a firearm was used

KRS 533.060(1) makes a person convicted of a Class A, B or C felony ineligible for probation, shock probation or conditional discharge when the offense "involved the use of a weapon from which a shot or projectile may be discharged that is readily capable of producing death or other serious physical injury." The statute makes an exception when the person establishes that the person against whom the weapon was used had engaged in domestic violence and abuse, as defined in KRS 403.720, against the person convicted or a family member.

Voluntary manslaughter in Kentucky: extreme emotional disturbance

Kentucky's statutes do not use the terms voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. The form closest to what other states call voluntary manslaughter is KRS 507.030(1)(b): causing a death "with intent to cause the death of another person ... under circumstances which do not constitute murder because he or she acts under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance, as defined in subsection (1)(a) of KRS 507.020."

The murder statute supplies the test. KRS 507.020(1)(a) provides that a person is not guilty of intentional murder "if he acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance for which there was a reasonable explanation or excuse, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant's situation under the circumstances as the defendant believed them to be." The same subsection adds that this does not "constitute a defense to a prosecution for or preclude a conviction of manslaughter in the first degree or any other crime."

The Supreme Court of Kentucky defined the term in McClellan v. Commonwealth, 715 S.W.2d 464 (Ky. 1986):

"Extreme emotional disturbance is a temporary state of mind so enraged, inflamed, or disturbed as to overcome one's judgment, and to cause one to act uncontrollably from the impelling force of the extreme emotional disturbance rather than from evil or malicious purposes. It is not a mental disease in itself, and an enraged, inflamed, or disturbed emotional state does not constitute an extreme emotional disturbance unless there is a reasonable explanation or excuse therefor, the reasonableness of which is to be determined from the viewpoint of a person in the defendant's situation under circumstances as defendant believed them to be."

The court also wrote that "the phrase 'extreme emotional disturbance' is a replacement for the old 'sudden heat of passion' but is somewhat less limited in its application." KRS 507.020 and 507.030 contain no provision addressing whether a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity can supply the reasonable explanation or excuse.

Second-degree manslaughter and reckless homicide: wanton versus reckless

Kentucky's two unintentional homicide offenses turn on whether the person was aware of the risk. The definitions in KRS 501.020 apply throughout the Kentucky Penal Code:

• Wantonly (KRS 501.020(3)): a person "is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk," and the disregard "constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation." The subsection adds that "a person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts wantonly with respect thereto."
• Recklessly (KRS 501.020(4)): a person "fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk," and the failure to perceive it "constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation."

A wanton death is manslaughter in the second degree (Class C). A reckless death, where the person failed to perceive the risk, is reckless homicide (Class D).

KRS 507.040(1) applies to a wanton death "including but not limited to situations where the death results from the person's":

• operation of a motor vehicle;
• leaving a child under 8 in a motor vehicle "under circumstances which manifest an extreme indifference to human life and which create a grave risk of death to the child";
• unlawful distribution for remuneration of a Schedule I or II controlled substance "when the controlled substance is the proximate cause of death"; or
• knowing distribution of fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative to another person without remuneration, where its introduction into the body causes that person's death.

Vehicular homicide and DUI deaths in Kentucky

Chapter 507 contains no separate vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter or intoxication manslaughter offense. A death caused by driving falls under the general homicide sections, depending on the mental state:

• Manslaughter in the second degree expressly includes a wanton death that results from the "operation of a motor vehicle" (KRS 507.040(1)(a)), a Class C felony, 5 to 10 years.
• Reckless homicide (KRS 507.050) covers a death caused with recklessness, a Class D felony, 1 to 5 years.
• Murder under KRS 507.020(1)(b) expressly includes "the operation of a motor vehicle under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life" where the person wantonly creates a grave risk of death and causes a death. Murder is outside this page; see how long a life sentence lasts in Kentucky.

For impaired driving, the voluntary-intoxication sentence in KRS 501.020(3) matters: a person who is unaware of a risk "solely by reason of voluntary intoxication" still acts wantonly. For DUI penalties when no one is killed, see Kentucky DUI laws. A conviction of manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle also requires the Transportation Cabinet to revoke the person's license for at least five years (KRS 186.560(1)(a)1., (4)).

Leaving the scene of a crash that injures or kills someone is a separate offense; KRS 189.580(1)(a) requires the driver to stop and render reasonable assistance, and our page on Kentucky hit-and-run laws covers the duty and penalties.

Fentanyl and drug-distribution deaths

Kentucky places drug deaths inside its manslaughter statutes rather than in a separate drug-induced homicide offense in Chapter 507:

• Knowingly selling fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative to another person whose use of it causes death is manslaughter in the first degree, a Class B felony (KRS 507.030(1)(d)).
• Knowingly distributing fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative without remuneration, where it causes the person's death, is manslaughter in the second degree, a Class C felony (KRS 507.040(1)(d)).
• Unlawfully distributing any Schedule I or II controlled substance for remuneration, when the substance is the proximate cause of death, is manslaughter in the second degree under KRS 507.040(1)(c), which also requires the wanton mental state of subsection (1).

Both fentanyl forms took effect on July 15, 2024, under 2024 Ky. Acts ch. 174 (House Bill 5).

Fetal homicide offenses below murder

The death of an unborn child is graded separately in KRS Chapter 507A, in a ladder that parallels Chapter 507:

• Fetal homicide in the second degree (KRS 507A.030): causing the death of an unborn child with intent to cause serious physical injury to it, or with intent to cause its death while acting under extreme emotional disturbance (or with the intent the matching forms of KRS 507.030 require), a Class B felony.
• Fetal homicide in the third degree (KRS 507A.040): wantonly causing the death of an unborn child, "including but not limited to situations where the death results from the person's operation of a motor vehicle," a Class C felony.
• Fetal homicide in the fourth degree (KRS 507A.050): causing the death of an unborn child with recklessness, a Class D felony.

Recent changes

2024 Ky. Acts ch. 174 (House Bill 5), effective July 15, 2024, added the fentanyl forms: knowingly selling fentanyl that causes a death became manslaughter in the first degree (KRS 507.030(1)(d)), and knowingly distributing it without remuneration became manslaughter in the second degree (507.040(1)(d)). 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 68 (House Bill 778), effective July 15, 2026, reworded the child and helpless-person form of first-degree manslaughter (507.030(1)(c)) to "abuses or neglects", and KRS 507.010(1) now borrows the definition of "abuse or neglect" in KRS 508.090. The earlier definition of abuse already included depriving a person of services necessary to maintain the person's health and welfare. The fentanyl forms apply to conduct on or after July 15, 2024; the first-degree text quoted on this page is the current version. The reckless homicide section, KRS 507.050, has not been amended since it took effect on January 1, 1975.

Federal law

Federal law separately defines voluntary and involuntary manslaughter in 18 U.S.C. 1112 and, within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, sets maximum prison terms of 15 years for voluntary and 8 years for involuntary manslaughter; the manslaughter hub covers the federal layer.

Related Kentucky pages

• Manslaughter laws by state
• Kentucky felony and misdemeanor classes
• Kentucky DUI laws
• Kentucky hit-and-run laws
• Kentucky self-defense laws
• First, second and third degree manslaughter explained

This article provides general legal information about Kentucky law as of 2026-10-17. It is not legal advice. For a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Kentucky.

Last updated: 2026-10-17.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is manslaughter a felony in Kentucky?

Yes. Manslaughter in the first degree is a Class B felony (KRS 507.030(2)), manslaughter in the second degree is a Class C felony (507.040(2)), and reckless homicide is a Class D felony (507.050(2)).

How many years is manslaughter in Kentucky?

Under KRS 532.060(2), first-degree manslaughter carries 10 to 20 years, second-degree manslaughter 5 to 10 years, and reckless homicide 1 to 5 years. A violent offender under KRS 439.3401 must serve at least 85 percent of a term of years before early release, subject to that section's exception for a court-determined victim of domestic violence or abuse.

Does Kentucky have voluntary and involuntary manslaughter?

Not by those names. The closest match to voluntary manslaughter is an intentional killing under extreme emotional disturbance, a form of first-degree manslaughter (KRS 507.030(1)(b)); unintentional deaths fall under second-degree manslaughter (wanton) or reckless homicide (507.040, 507.050).

What is the charge for a DUI death in Kentucky?

Kentucky's Chapter 507 has no DUI manslaughter offense. A driving death falls under manslaughter in the second degree, which expressly includes a wanton death from operating a motor vehicle (KRS 507.040(1)(a)), reckless homicide (507.050), or, for extreme-indifference driving, murder (507.020(1)(b)).

What is the difference between second-degree manslaughter and reckless homicide in Kentucky?

Second-degree manslaughter requires wanton conduct, being aware of and consciously disregarding a substantial and unjustifiable risk (KRS 501.020(3)). Reckless homicide requires failing to perceive that risk (501.020(4)).

Is selling fentanyl that causes a death manslaughter in Kentucky?

For an offense on or after July 15, 2024, knowingly selling fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative that causes the person's death is manslaughter in the first degree, a Class B felony (KRS 507.030(1)(d)). Knowingly distributing it without remuneration, where it causes death, is manslaughter in the second degree (507.040(1)(d)).

What is extreme emotional disturbance in Kentucky?

In McClellan v. Commonwealth (1986), the Supreme Court of Kentucky defined it as a temporary state of mind so enraged, inflamed or disturbed as to overcome one's judgment, and held it does not exist unless there is a reasonable explanation or excuse, judged from the defendant's situation as the defendant believed it to be.