What if you accidentally killed someone

She was the woman I loved most in my life until that point. And I feel like I killed her. One night we had a confirmed break-in. The security system started going off. I had weapons in my room. My father is usually working at night so being the man in the house, I grabbed my weapon and went searching.

My father never went to work that night but there was an actual intruder. I was sitting under my kitchen table and saw a man completely covered in black.

I knew because of the scream. It was a scream of a voice I loved all too much. Then around the corner came the intruder sprinting and jumping out my kitchen window. I had no reaction because I knew instantly what I had done. I ran to the phone and called the police. He died on the way to the hospital. My mother was heartbroken.

I blame myself for being irresponsible with a weapon. I know my father is looking down on me. I never meant for it to happen. A 4-year-old kid ran out in front of my car and I had less than a second to stop. I bumped her pretty hard and she was knocked over.

She hit her head on the pavement and apparently died instantly. I went numb. My surroundings suddenly started fading and I almost passed out. As I got out of the car, I saw her blood all over the road, and I vomited everywhere.

Her mum came over screaming. The police saw that there was literally nothing I could have done and let me go.

Then I stopped drinking and replaced it with self-harm and continued doing painkillers for about two years. I had dreams about it. I barely slept. Then one day, her mum showed up at my house and wanted to talk to me. I burst into tears and hugged her for a solid minute while we both cried our eyes out. When I was 22 or 23, I met a girl who was a recovering addict. We started dating right away, and, as I was still very active in my addiction, it was only a matter of time before she relapsed.

She began smoking it at first, but I used needles, and since I always had needles around, it was only a matter of time before she started IV use. We continued on our path of codependency and chemical dependency for a few months, spiraling ever deeper, and as far as I could tell, there was no way to stop it.

I did not want to stop. We made it easier for each other to use, we enabled each other and fell ever deeper into the void. She decided she wanted to quit. It was certainly her last bag. We both overdosed that night. The last thing I remember was us sitting on the floor together, trying to find a vein. I woke up, injured and confused, about six hours later. Contact a Knox County Criminal Defense Attorney As you can see, the severity of criminal charges involving the death of another person is dependent upon the minute details of the case.

Can I Get an Expungement in Tennessee? November 1. October 2. September 2. August 2. July 2. June 2. May 2. April 2. March 2. February 2. January 2. The killing may be done purposely, or it may be done accidentally. Accidental killings that fall under the criminal homicide umbrella may be done without the intent to kill, but in a way that shows the defendant knew their actions were dangerous and acted anyway, or acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others.

Criminal homicide includes murder, manslaughter, and death by auto or vessel otherwise known as vehicular homicide or vehicular manslaughter. Murder is the most severe charge for criminal homicide because it requires the intent of the defendant to do the killing. If you accidentally killed someone, you will probably not be charged with murder. Murder is a crime of the first degree and a defendant convicted of murder may be sentenced to a prison term from 30 years to life.

Whether or not a convicted defendant is eligible for parole will depend on the nature and severity of the offense. For example, if the victim was under the age of 18, the defendant will not be eligible for parole.

If you have been charged with murder, but you believe the killing occurred accidentally, you may have a valid defense. Zarych for help. Manslaughter is a similar crime to murder, but manslaughter does not require the intent of the defendant to kill the victim purposefully.

However, manslaughter does require recklessness that is so extreme as to demonstrate indifference to human life. Manslaughter may be separated into two distinct categories. A killing that occurs in the heat of passion is similar to murder because the defendant had the intent to kill the victim. A car accident is a shocking event.

Below are some things to consider. Post-Accident Steps There are several steps …. A T-bone car accident is one in which one car is struck in the side by another vehicle, creating a ….

Most car accidents result in typical kinds of injuries to the human body. These injuries generally result from people in …. Most car accidents happen for one of a limited number of reasons. Florida recognizes a few felonies which occur when someone causes the death of another person ….

Every year, car crashes kill or seriously injure almost five million Americans.