California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Migoya, C087345 (Cal. App. 2020):
Finally, we reject defendant's contention that the trial court should have instructed the jury on involuntary manslaughter based on imperfect self-defense. To the extent this claim is predicated on the theory that defendant committed a lawful act (self-defense) with criminal negligence, we find that it lacks merit. The trial court instructed the jury on both complete and imperfect self-defense. (See CALCRIM No. 505 [complete self-defense]; CALCRIM No. 571 ["A killing that would otherwise be murder is reduced to voluntary manslaughter if the defendant killed a person because he acted in imperfect self-defense."].) Defendant asserts the death of Dougherty was an unintentional killing, relying on his testimony that he did not intend to kill Dougherty. But a homicide based on imperfect self-defense is voluntary manslaughter even when it is an unintentional killing if the defendant acts in conscious disregard for life. "[W]hen a defendant, acting with conscious disregard for life, unintentionally kills in unreasonable self-defense, the killing is voluntary, not involuntary, manslaughter." (People v. Blakeley (2000) 23 Cal.4th 82, 88-89.)
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