Written by
Peter Maley
Director - Criminal Lawyer
Law Information - Murder / Manslaughter Offences - NT
Manslaughter
Date: 09/01/2009
The Law -
Murder may be reduced to manslaughter if the conduct of the deceased provoked the killing. The provocation generally needs to be of a kind to have actually caused the accused to lose self control but also to be of the kind that could have induced an ordinary person to have so far lost control as to have formed an intent to kill or cause harm to the deceased; see Section 158 of the NT Criminal Code.
Murder may also be reduced to manslaughter where the killing was intentional if the mental capacity of the accused was substantially impaired at the time of the killing contrary to Section 159 of the NT Criminal Code.
Maximum Penalty - Manslaughter
The maximum penalty for manslaughter is imprisonment for life but there is no mandatory sentence. The court takes into account the offenders age, circumstances of the offence, prior convictions and/or other matters.
What the prosecution must prove - Manslaughter
To be advised.
Possible Defences - Manslaughter
To be advised.
The Court process - Manslaughter
To be advised.