Cooling Time

Cooling time is also referred to as a “cooling-off period.” It is the time to recover “cool blood” after great excitement, stress, or provocation. In a manslaughter case, cooling time is the period of time between the provocation of the defendant by the victim and the point when the victim is killed. If the defendant has had an opportunity to “cool down” before the homicide, the defendant will probably be convicted of murder instead of voluntary manslaughter.