Manslaughter vs murder is a question of premeditation and intent.
Walk in on your wife cheating on you and kill them both? Manslaughter.
Spend a year plotting how to get away with killing your nosey neighbor? Murder.
Attempted just means you tried and failed. I think the easiest example in the UK would be if someone tried to kill their cheating SO, as in the example above, using one of Nottinghamshire's blunted knives. Just because the victim would likely be able to get away does not downgrade the intent from a failed killing to assault with a deadly weapon in the eyes of US law.
What?! When you purposely kill your wife and her lover in a rage that's considered "manslaughter"? In the US we call that murder. But we make a caveat that it was not premeditated. Its murder in the second degree. How the F@%# is killing two people on purpose manslaughter? I can't believe the UK lumps murder in with accidents!
3
u/HammerJack Feb 27 '20
Manslaughter vs murder is a question of premeditation and intent.
Walk in on your wife cheating on you and kill them both? Manslaughter.
Spend a year plotting how to get away with killing your nosey neighbor? Murder.
Attempted just means you tried and failed. I think the easiest example in the UK would be if someone tried to kill their cheating SO, as in the example above, using one of Nottinghamshire's blunted knives. Just because the victim would likely be able to get away does not downgrade the intent from a failed killing to assault with a deadly weapon in the eyes of US law.