This is not accurate. Slave codes in the American South often made outright killing of slaves illegal -- I mean killing in the sense of first degree murder (e.

This is not accurate. Slave codes in the American South often made outright killing of slaves illegal -- I mean killing in the sense of first degree murder (e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_codes#Proper_treatment_of_slaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_codes#Proper_treatment_o...). There were allowances made for crimes of passion in some cases, and slave codes differed from place to place. Slave codes were revised over time, depending on the goals and fears of the plantation class at the time. You're trying to draw a bright line here, but it will be hard to do so, because forms of slavery did differ, even in the heyday of slavery in the Americas. For example, the Code Noir that controlled slavery in New Orleans was less draconian than the codes used in other parts of the American South (e.g., see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Noir https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_Noir). This is one reason for the unique character of black/white/creole relations in New Orleans to this day.