criminal-law canada
Would killing a human by accident (without any premeditation or intent) be considered homicide or manslaughter?
<p>My question is a hypothetical one. I was conducting some research into the differences between murder, homicide and manslaughter and I didn't understand the difference between homicide and manslaughter. Let's say there are two friends walking down a busy street, teasing each other. One of them playfully pushes the other who falls into the oncoming traffic. That person doesn't make it. Will the friend who pushed be charged with manslaughter or homicide, if he were to be charged at all?  </p>

<p>Under <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/page-51.html" rel="noreferrer">Canadian law</a>, causing the death of human being is homicide. If the homicide is "culpable", it is an offense (crime). In the described scenario, it might be culpable homicide if the death was due to "criminal negligence". That would be the case if in doing a thing, the person "shows wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons".</p>

<p>We've now reached the end of what statutory law has to say about the question. Court cases take us <a href="http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/C/CriminalNegligence.aspx" rel="noreferrer">a bit further in understanding criminal negligence</a>. The wisdom of the courts is distilled to ts essence in jury instructions, which say</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The Crown must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's
  conduct showed a marked departure from the conduct of a reasonable
  person in the circumstances; and that a reasonable person in the same
  circumstances would have foreseen that this conduct posed a risk of
  bodily harm.</p>
</blockquote>

<p><a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/465/index.do" rel="noreferrer">R. v. Tutton</a> is an example: the court finds that</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The phrase "wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of
  other persons" signifies more than gross negligence in the objective
  sense.  It requires some degree of awareness or advertence to the
  threat to the lives or safety of others or alternatively a wilful
  blindness to that threat which is culpable in light of the gravity of
  the risk assumed.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Ultimately, though, the fact-finder must evaluate the behavior against a highly subjective standard as to "what a reasonable man would do". I cannot imagine a scenario where shoving a person realistically could lead to them falling into traffic and getting killed but there the shoving was ordinary horseplay. Pushing a person in the direction of oncoming traffic is abnormal behavior that shows shocking disregard for the probable harm caused to another. But perhaps there is some innocent scenario where this was really just a tragic outcome. So the answer is, it could be culpable homicide, or not, depending on the facts.</p>

<p>To be classed as murder (rather than manslaughter) the person has to intend to cause death (§229), which is missing from this scenario.</p>
