From the Crimprof Multipedia, for teaching purposes…
Category
Homicide
Tags
extreme emotional disturbance, homicide, manslaughter, mitigation, provocation, voluntary manslaughter
Post
In this classically-Seinfeldian introduction to Episode 18, Season 8 (“The Nap“) of Seinfeld, George Costanza reflects on the term “manslaughter.”
Unsurprisingly, George’s statements aren’t quite right to the criminal law, as manslaughter is a form of criminal homicide, not a “form of murder.” But not only is the clip quick and funny, it can help make an important point that I often have to prod students to see when we study mitigation of murder by provocation/extreme mental or emotional disturbance. It is not as if voluntary manslaughter is an award for good behavior—quite to the contrary, it is a serious (albeit not the single-most-serious) crime.