LogFAQs > #891374350

it doesnt just matter whether you give a jury the option of a lesser included offense, like manslaughter. It matters how you argue it to the jury. It sure seems to me that there was a good argument for manslaughter here. But did the prosecutor press that home? I wasnt there, but it would not surprise me if they didnt.

The reason is strategic. Prosecutors often choose the level of offense they want and argue hard for that and de-emphasize the arguments for the other levels out of concern that a jury will convict of a lesser included because its simpler to decide

So it would not surprise me at all if the prosecutor didnt really forcefully and in detail make the even if it was accidental it was manslaughter argument, out of fear it would encourage the jury to choose that instead of murder