Felony murder reduced to involuntary manslaughter in a tragic case where Client was prosecuted for the death of a family member who died of a drug overdose.
The original indictment included multiple charges, and the felony murder charge alone carried a possible sentence of life without parole.
Felony murder is one of the most serious charges a Client can face. To prove felony murder, the State must prove that the defendant, while committing another felony, took an action that resulted in the death of another person. Involuntary manslaughter is a much lesser charge. To prove involuntary manslaughter, the State must show that the person committed an unlawful act without intending to kill another person that, unfortunately, resulted in the other person’s death. Instead of facing a possible life without parole sentence, Client was looking at no more than 10 years as a maximum penalty in this case.
Because the Client never intended the death of this family member, and was not entirely aware of the effect her actions would have, Leslie was able to work the case out to involuntary manslaughter, and Client was sentenced to 10 years on probation with the first 5 years in prison.
