What is the definition of voluntary manslaughter?

• A. Intentional killing in the heat of passion after adequate provocation
• B. Intentional killing with malice aforethought
• C. Unintentional killing during a felony
• D. Felony murder

Answer: (A)

Voluntary manslaughter hinges on the killer’s state of mind: an intentional killing that occurs in the heat of passion sparked by adequate provocation. The provocation is enough to arouse passion and cause a loss of self-control, so malice aforethought is absent. In other words, the act is intentional, but the mental state is mitigated by the circumstances, preventing it from being murder.

This differs from the option describing intentional killing with malice aforethought, which is murder because the killer acted with a vicious intent to kill. It also differs from unintentional killing during a felony, which points to felony murder (or sometimes involuntary manslaughter in other contexts), not the heat-of-the-mapture scenario. Felony murder is a death that occurs during the commission of a dangerous felony, regardless of the killer’s intent.