re: #237 tradewind

More like a) criminally negligent homicide, or, probably as you meant it, b) ’ collateral damage’.
I’d go with a, because their actions had clearly foreseeable consequences.
At least, for those who weren’t too stoned.

I for one don’t see it, once again I’m going to Wikipeida, I know..

Criminally negligent manslaughter

“Criminally negligent manslaughter is variously referred to as criminally negligent homicide in the United States, gross negligence manslaughter in England and Wales or culpable homicide in Scotland.

It occurs where death results from serious negligence, or, in some jurisdictions, serious recklessness. A high degree of negligence is required to warrant criminal liability. A related concept is that of wilful blindness, which is where a defendant intentionally puts himself in a position where he will be unaware of facts which would render him liable.

Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs where there is an omission to act when there is a duty to do so, or a failure to perform a duty owed, which leads to a death. The existence of the duty is essential because the law does not impose criminal liability for a failure to act unless a specific duty is owed to the victim. It is most common in the case of professionals who are grossly negligent in the course of their employment. An example is where a doctor fails to notice a patient’s oxygen supply has disconnected and the patient dies (R v Adomako).”

It sounds to me like Criminally negligent manslaughter is what you get when you aren’t intending to do anything bad at all but somehow you screw up and someone dies because of it.

Bill Ayers clearly intended to blow up buildings, but stated that he never intended to harm anyone in the process, if someone ended up getting hurt/killed then that would sound more like “Constructive Manslaughter” to me, which is where you set out to commit crime A and along the way you kill someone without ever intending to.