A man became ill while at work and decided to go home early. When he entered his bedroom, the man saw his wife engaged in sexual intercourse with a neighbor. The man grabbed a gun from a dresser drawer and shot and killed the neighbor. He was later charged and prosecuted. In a jurisdiction that follows the common law for homicide offenses, which crimes should the court instruct the jury on?

Question

Social Studies

Eli

11 December, 07:37

A man became ill while at work and decided to go home early. When he entered his bedroom, the man saw his wife engaged in sexual intercourse with a neighbor. The man grabbed a gun from a dresser drawer and shot and killed the neighbor. He was later charged and prosecuted. In a jurisdiction that follows the common law for homicide offenses, which crimes should the court instruct the jury on?

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Brian Sheppard · Answer 1

Answer: Voluntary manslaughter

Explanation: Since the man found his wife with a neighbor during sex, not knowing beforehand that his wife was having an affair, it excludes the possibility that the man had planned the homicide beforehand. Another option is the unintentional, or accidental murder, so called involuntary manslaughter, where it would occur, for example, if the gun were fired accidentally, without the man's intention to kill the neighbor. This option is also ruled out because the man shot his neighbor with the intent to kill him.

So in this case, no murder was planned in advance, but upon seeing his wife's situation and affair with a neighbor, the man decided to kill the neighbor on the spot, so this is a voluntary manslaughter with murder.