On the other hand, a person who intentionally runs someone over with their car would likely be charged with murder (unless it involved self-defense). For example, the term may be applied to a case in which a driver kills someone as a result of their reckless driving (this is sometimes specifically called vehicular manslaughter). Acts labeled as involuntary manslaughter are often reckless but accidental. For example, this could apply to a person who unintentionally kills someone during a fight after having been provoked to fight (especially when their actions are considered to go beyond those deemed appropriate for self-defense). Voluntary manslaughter often involves a person who kills someone through voluntary actions but without intending to harm them. In the U.S., manslaughter can be classified as voluntary or involuntary. In legal contexts, though, it’s typically used in a way that implies that the killing was intentional or the result of a complete disregard for the victim’s life, and this is the crucial difference between the words. The word murder is also commonly used in more general ways.

There are many specific conditions and interpretations surrounding what constitutes murder and manslaughter, and laws vary by location.

Manslaughter is the legal term for the act of killing someone without intending to, often in an accidental way. Murder is the legal term for the intentional killing of someone or the killing of someone as the result of a complete disregard for their life.

Murder & Matchmaking by Debbie Cowens