"A teenager admits causing the death of a child, but the jury acquits him of both murder and manslaughter. How is this possible? Last year, nine-year-old Arya Thorpe tragically died due to a single stab wound to the chest. A teenage boy said he picked up the knife to scare her while play fighting. He only meant to make her flinch, but the knife ended up in her chest. So why was this not murder? That is quite simple. Unless the prosecution can prove intention to kill or cause really serious harm, you cannot be guilty of murder. But manslaughter is very different. It doesn't require intention to cause serious harm, but you do need to prove that death was caused by deliberate action, which was unlawful and objectively dangerous. A tragic accident on its own is not enough. A driver on the phone may not intend to hit anyone, but the action was still unlawful and dangerous. On the other hand, if a trained driver has no chance of stopping when somebody falls on the tracks, that is just a tragic accident. So why the acquittal? We don't know the specific details heard by the jury, but we can assume that the case was far more complicated than a simple question of dangerous unlawful behavior. The verdict doesn't tell us everything, but it does tell us something. After hearing all the evidence, the jury did not think that either charge was proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Follow us for more."