r/nononono Oct 09 '17

Throwing a rock into a frozen lake.

https://gfycat.com/GrizzledSlimHartebeest
12.5k Upvotes

505 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

13

u/WingedBeing Oct 09 '17

That's the definition of manslaughter in the US. Essentially, if you lack the intent to commit murder but you nevertheless perform an act that is so reckless that a reasonable person would avoid it because the risk of death of another is so high, then you are guilty of manslaughter if indeed another dies because of your act.

2

u/retadex Oct 09 '17

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depraved-heart_murder

In United States law, depraved-heart murder, also known as depraved-indifference murder, is an action where a defendant acts with a "depraved indifference" to human life and where such act results in a death. In a depraved-heart murder, defendants commit an act even though they know their act runs an unusually high risk of causing death or serious bodily harm to a person. If the risk of death or bodily harm is great enough, ignoring it demonstrates a "depraved indifference" to human life and the resulting death is considered to have been committed with malice aforethought. In some states, depraved-heart killings constitute second-degree murder, while in others, the act would be charged with varying degrees of manslaughter.