In PA the crime of involuntary manslaughter is not a felony offense it is a misdemeanor offense. It is a very broad offense and it encompasses many different possible scenarios in which a person engages in reckless or gross negligence and thereby causes death.
Some common examples of involuntary manslaughter prosecutions are 1) drivers of vehicles when an accidental death occurs, 2) party hosts when drinking or drug use is permitted and causes death, 3) property owners where someone dies as a result of a dangerous condition, or something in disrepair, 4) drag races when a death occurs, 5) home health aids or other caretakers negligent in the care of a dependent person, 6) most commonly, licensed or unlicensed gun owners, when a death is caused by a firearm.
The involuntary manslaughter statute in PA is Title 18, Section 2504 and it states the following:
A person is guilty of involuntary manslaughter when as a direct result of the doing of an unlawful act recklessly or grossly negligent manner, or the doing of a lawful act act in a reckless or grossly negligent manner, he causes the death of another person.
As stated above, the most common involuntary manslaughter prosecutions involve intentional firearm discharges and accidental firearm discharges. These prosecutions are very fact sensitive. Legally it is immaterial whether the defendant committed a legal or illegal act. However, the law requires that the defendant’s actions be the cause of death.
Recently I had a case where my client accidentally shot and killed his friend. It occurred on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving in a bar parking lot. After closing there was a fight in the parking lot. One of the people involved in the fight (who was never identified by the participants or the police) brandished a firearm and pointed it in the air. My client drew his legally purchased firearm which he was to carry and attempted to disarm the gunman. My client approached the man with the gun, he pointed his firearm at him and he ordered him to drop his firearm. The gunman backed away from my client while holding the gun, and his hands, in the air. The gunman eventually put the firearm on the ground. Suddenly and unexpectedly, my client was tackled from behind by someone. My client did not know it at the time but the person who was tackling him was a friend. At the time, my client assumed that the person tackling him was someone associated with the gunman trying to disarm him. My client fired his weapon one time. The shot struck and killed the person tackling him. My client called 911 and waited at the scene for police to arrive. While waiting for police to arrive, my client was informed that the person he shot was his friend. He was shocked and he was surprised.
My client was charged with involuntary manslaughter and other misdemeanor offenses. We went to trial and the defendant was acquitted of all charges.
Contrary to common sense and logic, in PA it is not illegal to possess, or even use, a firearm while intoxicated. Nevertheless, intoxication, while possessing and or using a firearm, may serve as the basis for a finding of reckless or gross negligent conduct for purposes of an involuntary manslaughter prosecution. For example, a person licensed to carry a firearm, who uses the firearm while acting in self defense, might be prosecuted for involuntary manslaughter if he kills and his actions are deemed to be reckless.
The client gave a statement to homicide detectives that he was drinking. But there was no evidence that alcohol contributed to his judgement in firing his gun. In fact his actions were entirely reasonable. If anyone was negligent it was the deceased victim who attempted to tackle my client who was armed and acting with complete justification under the law (in defense of others). In court, I argued that the fact that the District Attorney’s Office charged Involuntary Manslaughter charges, and not more serious charges, was a concession that the client acted reasonably and justifiably. The Commonwealth could have charged voluntary manslaughter under a theory of imperfect self defense and may have been successful given the defendant’s admission that he was drinking.
He was not grossly negligent with respect to the person he was attempting to disarm nor the others that he was protecting – and the deceased was one of those persons that the defendant was protecting. In other words, the defendant did not disregard a substantial and unjustifiable risk that death would result from his conduct.
The difference between this case and all other cases is that the client in this case was performing a legal act. The client was engaged in the act of defending others, when tackled from behind. The client intentionally fired a shot because he was in fear of his life. The client did not know who tackled him. The client assumed that the person was protecting the gunman and assumed that the person tackling him was armed. This was a reasonable assumption.
The death caused in this case was accidental and tragic. But for the illegal actions of the unknown gunman, and the irrational and reckless act of the deceased, the death caused by my client would not have occurred. My client mistakenly but reasonably believed that he was being attacked and justifiably shot and killed the deceased. He was acquitted and found not guilty of all charges which was the right result under the law.
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