Me. Rev. Stat. » Title 17
Maine Revised Statutes

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17, § 2551 (2026)

Definition

✓ current as of May 2026
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(REPEALED)
SECTION HISTORY
PL 1975, c. 499, §15 (RP).
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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10 cases, 1972–1988 · leading case: State v. Lewisohn, 379 A.2d 1192 (Me. 1977).
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State v. Lewisohn, 379 A.2d 1192 (Me. 1977). · cites it 4× “Instead of describing "involuntary manslaughter" either in terms above recited or equivalent language, the presiding justice paraphrased the language of former 17 M.R.S.A. § 2551, as follows: "Whoever unlawfully kills a human being in the heat of passion or on sudden provocation…”
State v. Lafferty, 309 A.2d 647 (Me. 1973). · cites it 4× “An understanding of the statutory history of these two sections (17 M.R.S.A. §§ 2551 and 2651) clearly demonstrates the insignificance of sectional statutory arrangement.”
State v. Stackpole, 349 A.2d 185 (Me. 1975). · cites it 3× “” 17 M.R.S.A. § 2551. 11 The defendant, however, failed to request an instruction on involuntary manslaughter and made no objection to the charge on the ground that it lacked such an instruction.”
State v. Pray, 378 A.2d 1322 (Me. 1977). “Since the common law concept of involuntary manslaughter resulting from an unlawful act can no longer be regarded as based on sound principles of criminal law and has not been incorporated in the new Maine Criminal Code, the doctrine should no longer be applied to sustain…”
Stillman E. Wilbur, Jr. v. Garrell S. Mullaney, 496 F.2d 1303 (1st Cir. 1974). “” 17 M.R.S.A. § 2551, ante. A defendant convicted of murder “shall be punished by imprisonment for life.”
State v. Hilliker, 327 A.2d 860 (Me. 1974). “or commits manslaughter as defined by the common law, shall be punished 17 M.R.S.A. § 2551. The above statutory language is commonly understood as providing punishment for an unlawful' killing on two distinct legal theories, namely, “voluntary” or “statutory” manslaughter as…”
Wilbur v. Robbins, 349 F. Supp. 149 (D. Me. 1972). “17 M.R.S.A. § 2551. (Emphasis supplied.) *153 The Maine statutes thus define two separate and distinct crimes of murder and manslaughter, each with its own elements and sentence.”
State v. Hurd, 288 A.2d 478 (Me. 1972). “17 M.R.S.A. § 2551. The appellant has no cause to complain, particularly in view of our recent holding in State v.”
Ronald Francis Smart v. William D. Leeke, Comm'r, South Carolina Dep't of Corr. Attorney Gen. of South Carolina, 856 F.2d 609 (4th Cir. 1988). “3 (quoting Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. tit. 17, § 2651 (1964)), and manslaughter as the unlawful killing of a human being “in the heat of passion, on sudden provocation, without express or implied malice aforethought,” id.”
State v. Leonard, 363 A.2d 1369 (Me. 1976). “17 M.R.S.A. § 2551. 1 The three indictments were consolidated, jury trial waived by each defendant, and a single Justice of the Superior Court made a finding of guilt with reference to each defendant.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.