Homicide is excusable when committed by accident or misfortune in doing any lawful act by lawful means, without criminal negligence, or without any unlawful intent.
RCW 9A.16.030
Homicide—When excusable.
Known as the Washington Criminal Code
The act spans §§ 9–9 (401 sections).
Applied in 16 court decisions — leading case State v. Brightman (2005)
Most recently applied in State of Washington v. Leslie Melgar Moreno (May 2023)
1979 ex.s. c 244 s 8; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 s 9A.16.030.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.