Mississippi Code

Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (2026)

Homicide; killing of child under 18 years of age by perpetrator over 21 years of age; penalties for manslaughter and child homicide

✓ current as of July 2026

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(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any person convicted of manslaughter shall be fined in a sum not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one (1) year, or both, or in the custody of the Department of Corrections not less than two (2) years, nor more than twenty (20) years.

(2)
- (a) A person is guilty of child homicide if:
  - (i) The person is found guilty of manslaughter in circumstances where the killing, although without malice, was intentional and not accidental; and
  - (ii) The perpetrator was over the age of twenty-one (21) years and the victim was a child under the age of eighteen (18) years.
- (b) A person found guilty of child homicide shall be imprisoned in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a term not to exceed thirty (30) years.

Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 64, art. 12, Title 3 (20, 21); 1857, ch. 64, art. 183; 1871, § 2646; 1880, § 2894; 1892, § 1167; 1906, § 1245; Hemingway's 1917, § 975; 1930, § 1003; 1942, § 2233.

Amended by Laws, 2013, ch. 379, SB 2255, 1, eff. 7/1/2013.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 69 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1974–2024 · leading case: Zack Cozar v. State of Mississippi, 226 So. 3d 574 (Miss. 2017).

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Zack Cozar v. State of Mississippi, 226 So. 3d 574 (Miss. 2017). · cites it 22× “” Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (2006). 5 However, when sentenced, the trial judge applied the law’s 2013 update, which expanded on the original law by including a provision for child homicide and an increased sentence “not to exceed thirty (30) years,” Miss.”

Walker v. State, 671 So. 2d 581 (Miss. 1995). · cites it 3× “Compare Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-3-25 (1972), 97-3-21 (Supp.”

Jackson v. State, 551 So. 2d 132 (Miss. 1989). · cites it 4× “Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (1972). From that conviction and sentence Jackson now appeals, assigning ten (10) errors.”

Heidel v. State, 587 So. 2d 835 (Miss. 1991). · cites it 2× “See Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (1972). Heidel moved for judgment of acquittal notwithstanding the verdict and, in the alternative, for a new trial.”

Jones v. State, 885 So. 2d 83 (Miss. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 6× “See Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (Rev.2000). The trial judge sentenced Jones to twenty years with two years suspended and eighteen years to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.”

Jackson v. State, 684 So. 2d 1213 (Miss. 1996). · cites it 2× “Compare Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-3-25 (1972), 97-3-21(Supp.”

Zack Cozar v. State of Mississippi, 226 So. 3d 639 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 20× “Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (Rev.2006). 2 . Section 97-3-19(2)(f) reads: The kitting of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any matter shall be capital murder .”

Butler v. State, 608 So. 2d 314 (Miss. 1992). · cites it 2× “Compare Miss. Code Ann. §§ 97-3-25 (1972), 97-3-21 (Supp.”

Hewlett v. State, 607 So. 2d 1097 (Miss. 1992). · cites it 3× “NOTES [1] Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (1972), provides the penalty for manslaughter.”

Williams v. State, 31 So. 3d 69 (Miss. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 4× “” Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (Rev.2006) (sentence); Miss.”

Wade v. State, 802 So. 2d 1023 (Miss. 2001). · cites it 4× “§ 97-3-25 (2000), states: Any person convicted of manslaughter shall be fined in the sum not less than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year, or both, or in the penitentiary not less than two years, nor more than twenty years.”

Craig v. State, 520 So. 2d 487 (Miss. 1988). · cites it 4× “Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 gives the authorized penalty for a manslaughter conviction: Any person convicted of manslaughter shall be fined in a sum not less than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned in the county jail not more than one year, or both, or in the penitentiary not…”

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— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25(1) — 5 cases

Jonathan Earl Herrington v. State of Mississippi, 242 So. 3d 909 (Miss. Ct. App. 2017).

Jeycob England v. State of Mississippi, 195 So. 3d 830 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016).

Zack Cozar v. State of Mississippi, 226 So. 3d 639 (Miss. Ct. App. 2016). “Miss.Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (Rev.2006). 2 . Section 97-3-19(2)(f) reads: The kitting of a human being without the authority of law by any means or in any matter shall be capital murder .”

Dwayna Porche Hickerson a/k/a Dwayna Hickerson a/k/a Dwanya Hickerson v. State of Mississippi (Miss. Ct. App. 2022).

Brooks v. State, 158 So. 3d 314 (Miss. Ct. App. 2014).

— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25(2) — 1 case

— Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25(b) — 1 case

Zack Cozar v. State of Mississippi, 226 So. 3d 574 (Miss. 2017). “” Miss. Code Ann. § 97-3-25 (2006). 5 However, when sentenced, the trial judge applied the law’s 2013 update, which expanded on the original law by including a provision for child homicide and an increased sentence “not to exceed thirty (30) years,” Miss.”

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