What’s the Difference between Murder & Manslaughter? - For a murder charge to be made, Police generally need to establish the accused had an intention to kill (or cause serious injury to) the deceased, or that the act which caused death was done with “reckless indifference” to human life. “intention” can be quite challenging because it involves trying to get evidence about someone’s state of mind. Even “reckless indifference”, which might sound like a more relaxed test, is still a high bar to meet in terms of evidence. For manslaughter, a person who unlawfully kills another under such circumstances as not to constitute murder is guilty of manslaughter. Penalties Different for Murder or Manslaughter - Both murder & manslaughter technically have maximum penalties of “life imprisonment” (a term which does not necessarily mean spending the rest of your life in prison). The main difference in sentencing is that someone convicted of murder will be sentenced to life imprisonment, which cannot be reduced. However, while getting found guilty of manslaughter could theoretically attract the same penalty, the Court has more flexibility in sentencing. The sentence for manslaughter could be reduced having regard to any number of factors your lawyers will advise the Court about. There is also no minimum sentence for manslaughter. So, ultimately the Court will review circumstances. Murder & manslaughter are some of the most serious crimes you can be charged with in Queensland.
