# Three men freeze to death in a friend's backyard and aren't found for three days **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 16, 2024, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151 "2024-01-16T06:01:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 26
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/514 "2026-02-20T17:23:55Z")
Eh, he already admitted to all the previous charges: he supplied them with the drugs, thus indirectly and unintentionally causing their deaths. At least in most States, “murder” implies a deliberate attempt to cause death, which seems like it could be hard to prove based on these facts. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/515 "2026-02-20T18:11:06Z")
But he could be charged with criminally negligent homicide. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/516 "2026-02-20T18:12:30Z")
Is that different from what they were originally charged with, “involuntary manslaughter”? ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/517 "2026-02-20T18:45:39Z")
Negligent homicide means you do a thing which results in people dying. You do not even have to have a direct connection to the people who die, you just do something improperly and deaths result. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/518 "2026-02-20T18:54:12Z")
Right, but to my understanding, that’s also what “involuntary manslaughter” means. Is there a distinction, or is it just a case of different States using different words for the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/519 "2026-02-20T19:07:00Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Is there a distinction, or is it just a case of different States using different words for the same thing? There may be slight variations in the elements or phrasing, but both are the same concept. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2026, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151/520 "2026-02-20T20:33:40Z")
Aren’t drug dealers sometimes charged with lower level murder when their clients overdose? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-men-freeze-to-death-in-a-friends-backyard-and-arent-found-for-three-days/996151.md?page=25)