Tensions Run Over: Boston Massacre Mock Trial

Read the account of the Boston Massacre as it appeared in the pages of the Boston Gazette on March 12, 1770.

Definition of the Charge

Manslaughter: Voluntary
Voluntary manslaughter is commonly defined as an intentional killing in which the offender had no prior intent to kill, such as a killing that occurs in the "heat of passion." The circumstances leading to the killing must be the kind that would cause a reasonable person to become emotionally or mentally disturbed; otherwise, the killing may be charged as a first-degree or second-degree murder.