Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13 (2026)

Manslaughter; punishment; business organization as defendant

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 13. Whoever commits manslaughter shall, except as hereinafter provided, be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than twenty years or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars and imprisonment in jail or a house of correction for not more than two and one half years. Whoever commits manslaughter while violating the provisions of sections 102 to 102C, inclusive, of chapter 266 shall be imprisoned in the state prison for life or for any term of years.

Any business organization including, without limitation, a corporation, association, partnership or other legal entity that commits manslaughter shall be punished by a fine of not more than $250,000. If a business organization is found guilty under this section, the appropriate commissioner or secretary may debar the corporation under section 29F of chapter 29 for a period of not more than 10 years.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 111 cases (17 in the last 5 years), 1971–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Guaman, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 36 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).

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Commonwealth v. Guaman, 90 Mass. App. Ct. 36 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016). · cites it 5× “The defendant appeals from his convictions of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 13 ½ (OUI manslaughter), felony motor vehicle homicide in violation of G.”

Commonwealth v. Jones, 399 N.E.2d 1087 (Mass. App. Ct. 1980). · cites it 6× “Subsequent indictments charged the defendant with three counts of involuntary manslaughter (G.L.c. 265, § 13), three counts of vehicular homicide (G.”

Commonwealth v. Kennedy, 90 N.E.3d 722 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “**805 A Superior Court jury convicted the defendant of indecent assault and battery on a person over fourteen, G. L. c. 265, § 13 H, assault and battery, G.”

Commonwealth v. Jones, 416 N.E.2d 502 (Mass. 1981). · cites it 2× “G. L. c. 265, § 13. 5 The legislative history of § 24G indicates that prosecutors faced with this choice hesitated to proceed on a manslaughter theory, even when the facts so warranted, because of the reluctance of jurors to convict fellow drivers on such a serious charge.”

Commonwealth v. Brown, 1 N.E.3d 259 (Mass. 2013). · cites it 2× “Thus Brown contends that the only appropriate sentence to which he may be subjected is the sentence for the *686 next most severe homicide offense that provides a range of discretionary sentencing options: the voluntary manslaughter penalty under G. L. c. 265, § 13. This statute…”

Commonwealth v. Woodward, 694 N.E.2d 1277 (Mass. 1998). · cites it 2× “See G. L. c. 265, § 13. Pressed several times at oral argument, the Commonwealth refused, perhaps out of respect for our jurisprudence on sentencing, to argue for consideration of the lawfulness of the sentence on any ground independent from its claim of error on the judge’s…”

Commonwealth v. Pileeki, 818 N.E.2d 596 (Mass. App. Ct. 2004). · cites it 3× “266, § 1, and involuntary manslaughter, G. L. c. 265, § 13. She was sentenced to MCI, Cedar Junction, for a term of not more than six years and not less than three years and nine months on the manslaughter conviction, and to five years’ probation, with special conditions, on the…”

Commonwealth v. Grimshaw, 590 N.E.2d 681 (Mass. 1992). · cites it 2× “The sentence imposed was within the maximum authorized by the Legislature, see G.L.c. 265, § 13 (1990 ed.), and we find no argument of constitutional dimension within the defendant's claim that the judge acted with undue severity.”

Commonwealth v. Levesque, 766 N.E.2d 50 (Mass. 2002). “A grand jury in Worcester County returned six indictments against each defendant for involuntary manslaughter, G. L. c. 265, § 13. The indictments were based on grand jury testimony concerning the defendants’ conduct in starting by accident and then failing to report a fire in…”

Commonwealth v. Clark, 471 N.E.2d 349 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 3× “” The face of the indictment cited G. L. c. 265, §13, which prescribes the punishment for manslaughter.”

Commonwealth v. Azar, 825 N.E.2d 999 (Mass. 2005). “In accordance with the plea agreement, the judge imposed a “split” sentence: of a nineteen to twenty year sentence, he sentenced the defendant to 4,570 days to serve, and then gave the defendant credit for 4,570 days served on the murder conviction.”

United States v. Walter, 434 F.3d 30 (1st Cir. 2006). “Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13 (2005). The statute does not distinguish between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter; therefore, both offenses are punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.”

Show all 111 citing cases →

— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13(A)(a) — 1 case

Commonwealth v. Packer, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 585 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015).

— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13(a) — 1 case

Vincent Savageau v. Robert Hazlewood, Warden, Fed. Corr. Inst., Berlin, New Hampshire, 2019 DNH 048 (D.N.H. 2019).

— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 13(b)(iii) — 2 cases

Commonwealth v. Valentin (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).

Commonwealth v. Valentin (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).

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