T.P.I. -- CRIM. 7.06

 VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER

            Any person who commits voluntary manslaughter is guilty of a crime.

            For you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, the state must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt the existence of the following elements:¹

            (1)  that the defendant unlawfully killed the alleged victim;

and

            (2)  that the defendant acted intentionally or knowingly;

and

            (3)  that the killing resulted from a state of passion produced by adequate

                   provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an

                   irrational manner.

            The distinction between voluntary manslaughter and second degree murder is that voluntary manslaughter requires that the killing result from a state of passion produced by adequate provocation sufficient to lead a reasonable person to act in an irrational manner.

            "Intentionally" means that a person acts intentionally  when it is the person's conscious objective or desire to cause the death of the alleged victim.²

            "Knowingly" means that a person acts with an awareness that [his] [her]

conduct is reasonably certain to cause the death of the alleged victim.3

FOOTNOTES

  1.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-211(a).

2.      State v. Page, ___S.W.3d___; No. M2001-01853-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. April 16, 2002).

3.      State v. Page, ___S.W.3d___; No. M2001-01853-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. April 16, 2002).

COMMENTS

            1.  Voluntary manslaughter is a Class C felony.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-211(b).

            2.   A violation of Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-401, child abuse and neglect, may be a lesser included offense of voluntary manslaughter.  Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-15-401(d).