Criminally Negligent Homicide

A homicide offense in which death results from a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would observe, without the intent to kill or the conscious disregard of risk required for murder or manslaughter. It typically sits below manslaughter in the hierarchy of homicide charges used by many jurisdictions, including a number of United States states that codify it as its own lesser offense, reserved for conduct that is careless or inattentive rather than reckless. Common fact patterns include fatal accidents caused by extreme carelessness, such as leaving a loaded firearm accessible to a child or grossly unsafe handling of dangerous equipment.