Common Defense Strategies Against Manslaughter Charges

A criminal defense attorney serving Columbus can use different strategies when it comes to defending clients charged with manslaughter. A criminal lawyer may attempt to prove that the defendant did not actually commit the crime, that his or her actions were justified, or that the behavior did not fulfill the necessary elements of the crime.

Criminal law defenses against manslaughter are similar to murder defenses. When a criminal law attorney can argue that the client did not commit any crime at all, that is the best defense possible. Prosecutors have the burden of proving that someone committed manslaughter, and the defendant’s criminal lawyer must merely raise a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not kill anyone. In criminal defense law, self-defense is a slightly trickier defense, but a skilled criminal law attorney should be comfortable putting it on. A self-defense claim involves proving that the defendant faced an imminent threat of bodily harm from which he defended himself. Criminal lawyers also sometimes seek to show that a death occurred as an accident, and a defendant can therefore not be culpable.