For three centuries the criminal law has given rise to a divergent set of approaches to the crime of homicide. Whereas the law of murder has not fundamentally changed, the crime of manslaughter has resulted in some forms of homicide being visited with relatively minor penalties. These various categories of homicide present considerable problems relating to intention, or lack of it, and the culpability of those whose behavior, while lacking in evident malice, is characterized by the grossest recklessness. The reaction of the relatives of victims is simpler; they frequently find it impossible...