What characterizes criminal negligence in a legal situation?

Criminal negligence is characterized by a significant disregard for the safety and lives of others, which manifests as a failure to act with the level of care that a reasonable person would observe in similar circumstances. The core of criminal negligence lies in the individual's recklessness, which reflects a conscious choice to ignore a substantial risk that their actions may result in serious harm to others.

Recklessness involves awareness of the risk but choosing to act anyway, while culpable negligence refers to situations where an individual's conduct is so grossly negligent that it exceeds mere negligence and rises to the level of a criminal offense. In this context, culpable negligence can lead to charges like involuntary manslaughter if it results in someone's death.

The other options do not align with the definition of criminal negligence. An unexpected result from an intentional act does not imply negligence but rather intentionality. A failure to act that causes minimal harm does not meet the threshold for criminal negligence, as the harm is minimal and does not indicate a gross departure from the standard of care. Finally, having an intention to harm resulting in death falls into the realm of intentional crimes rather than negligence. Therefore, the characterization of negligence revolves around recklessness that escalates to culpable negligence, which aligns with the correct answer