76-5-205.  Manslaughter — Penalties.

(1) 

Attorney's Note

Under the Utah Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
felony of the second degree1 to 15 yearsup to $10,000
For details, see Utah Code § 76-3-203

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Terms Used In Utah Code 76-5-205

  • Act: means a voluntary bodily movement and includes speech. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Actor: means a person whose criminal responsibility is in issue in a criminal action. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Offense: means a violation of any penal statute of this state. See Utah Code 76-1-101.5
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  As used in this section:

(i) 

(A)  “Aid” means the act of providing the physical means.

(B)  “Aid” does not include the withholding or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment procedures to the extent allowed under Title 75, Chapter 2a, Advance Health Care Directive Act, or any other laws of this state.

(ii)  “Practitioner” means an individual currently licensed, registered, or otherwise authorized by law to administer, dispense, distribute, or prescribe medications or procedures in the course of professional practice.

(iii)  “Provides” means to administer, prescribe, distribute, or dispense.

(b)  Terms defined in Section 76-1-101.5 apply to this section.

(2)  Except as provided in Subsection (5), an actor commits manslaughter if the actor:

(a)  recklessly causes the death of another individual;

(b)  intentionally, and with knowledge that another individual intends to commit suicide or attempt to commit suicide, aids the individual to commit suicide; or

(c)  commits a homicide which would be murder, but the offense is reduced in accordance with Subsection 76-5-203(4).

(3)  A violation of Subsection (2) is a felony of the second degree.

(4) 

(a)  In addition to the penalty described under this section or any other section, a defendant who is convicted of violating this section shall have the defendant’s driver license revoked under Section 53-3-220 if the death of another individual results from driving a motor vehicle.

(b)  The court shall forward the report of the conviction resulting from driving a motor vehicle to the Driver License Division in accordance with Section 53-3-218.

(5) 

(a)  A practitioner does not violate Subsection (2)(b) if the practitioner provides medication or a procedure to treat an individual’s illness or relieve an individual’s pain or discomfort, regardless of whether the medication or procedure may hasten or increase the risk of death to the individual to whom the practitioner provides the medication or procedure.

(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (5)(a), a practitioner violates Subsection (2)(b) if the practitioner intentionally and knowingly provides the medication or procedure to aid the individual to commit suicide or attempt to commit suicide.

Amended by Chapter 181, 2022 General Session