When one person kills another, but does so negligently, rather than recklessly or intentionally, they have committed criminally negligent homicide in Alabama.  Our Alabama Murder attorneys have vast experience representing clients charged with criminally negligent homicide.

The Alabama criminally negligent homicide statute can be found at § 13A-6-4 and states that this crime is a Class A misdemeanor, which means it is punishable by up to a year in prison.  An exception to this range of punishment is found when the jury determines the actor is guilty of criminally negligent homicide while violating the DUI laws of the State of Alabama.  If the defendant was driving under the influence and killed another person, and the jury finds their action constituted criminally negligent homicide, that person is convicted of a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The typical scenario where a person is charged with criminally negligent homicide is where they are not intoxicated, but negligently run a stop sign or traffic signal, or are speeding, and someone is killed as a result.  This is a common charge for young, careless drivers, who kill an occupant of their vehicle while driving negligently.

Often, a defendant is actually charged with manslaughter or murder, and a defense attorney seeks conviction of criminally negligent homicide as a lesser-included offense.  In such a situation, the murder defendant is able to avoid having a felony on their record.

If you, or a loved one, have been charged with criminally negligent homicide in Dothan, Ozark, Enterprise, or any other area of Alabama, email or call the murder defense attorneys at Boles Holmes White to represent you today.  334-366-6086.