Manslaughter vs. Murder – The Law in Nevada

Murder is a more serious homicide crime than manslaughter in Nevada.

Murder requires “malice aforethought”, which includes premeditation or extremely reckless conduct. In contrast, manslaughter is done “in the heat of passion” or through negligent behavior.

What is murder in Nevada?

Murder is divided into two degrees.

First degree murder comprises:

1. premeditated killings (such as lying in wait to kill someone); and
2. “felony murder“, which are unpremeditated killings done in the commission of a serious crime (such as a burglary or a robbery gone wrong).

Meanwhile, second degree murder comprises unpremeditated killings resulting from extremely reckless behavior.

Example: Paul and Ron are playing Russian Roulette. Paul points the gun at Ron and pulls the trigger, resulting in Ron dying from a gunshot wound.

Even if Paul did not intend for Ron to die, he should have known that death was likely inevitable from playing something as risky as Russian Roulette.

Murder is a category A felony. The penalties depend on the degree:

Murder conviction	Nevada Penalties
1st-degree murder	Death penalty (only if there are aggravating circumstances, and they outweigh any mitigating circumstances), or Life in Nevada State Prison with no possibility of parole, or Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years, or 50 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years
2nd-degree murder	Life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years, or 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years1

What is manslaughter in Nevada?

As with murder, there are two types of manslaughter.

Voluntary manslaughter is killing someone “in the heat of passion.” The defendant had no intention of killing anyone, but they were so provoked in the moment that they instantly flew into a homicidal rage.

Example: Henry walks into his bedroom only to find his wife in bed with another man. Immediately Henry flies into a rage and kills him.

Although the killing was intentional in the moment, the “sudden passion” element makes it less blameworthy than first-degree murder. Henry would face voluntary manslaughter instead of murder charges.

Meanwhile, involuntary manslaughter is unintentionally killing someone while committing:

• an unlawful act (such as hunting without a license) or
• negligent behavior (such as carelessly handling a loaded gun).

So although the defendant’s actions were risky, they did not rise to the level of extreme recklessness of second-degree murder.

Manslaughter penalties turn on the specific charge.

Manslaughter conviction	Nevada Penalties
Voluntary manslaughter	Category B felony: 1 to 10 years in prison, and Up to $10,000 in fines2
Involuntary manslaughter	Category D felony: 1 to 4 years in prison, and Up to $5,000 in fines3

How about fatal car accidents?

Nevada has separate charges for cases involving car accidents that result in a fatality. The penalties turn on whether the defendant was intoxicated, reckless, or merely negligent.

Charge	Nevada Penalties
Vehicular manslaughter (a fatal crash caused by negligence)	Misdemeanor Up to six months in jail, and Up to $1,000 in fines4
Reckless driving causing death	Category B felony: 1 to 6 years in prison, and $2,000 to $5,000 in fines5
DUI causing death	Category B felony: 2 to 20 years in prison, and Up to $20,000 in fines6
Vehicular homicide (a fatal DUI crash following 3 prior DUI convictions)	Category A felony: 25 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years; or life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years7

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