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Homicide summary notes
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Homicide summary notes
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HOMICIDE1) Murder
The crime of murder is committed where (i) a person of sound mind (ii) unlawfully (iii) kills
(iv) any human being (v) under the Queen's peace (vi) with malice aforethought
a) Actus reus
Murder is a result crime. For a person to be guilty = must be established by prosecution beyond
reasonable doubt an act, a set of legally relevant circumstances and a particular harm caused. Points
(1) through to (v) of the definition above constitute the actus reus of murder.
‘Any human being’ – When does life begin? When does life end?
‘Unlawfully’ – If the D is able to rely on the defence of self-defence they have not killed unlawfully
‘Kills’ – it must be proven that the D caused the death of the victim: ‘Causing’ death – need to
consider factual and legal causation
b) Mens rea: ‘with malice aforethought’
(a) Intention to kill, or
(b) Intention to cause GBH
Cunningham [1982] -> mens rea of murder can be satisfied either by an intent to cause death or an
intent to cause grievous bodily harm
Intention :
-Direct Intention
-Oblique/indirect Intention
Woollin -> murder conviction was substituted with manslaughter conviction. There was a material
misdirection which expanded the mens rea of murder and therefore the murder conviction was
unsafe
The inclusion of intent to cause GBH is considered by some as controversial:
‘In English law a defendant may be convicted of murder who is in no ordinary sense a murderer’
Per Lord Steyn in R v Powell [1997]
c) Penalties for murder
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 = sentence for adults who commit murder is
mandatory ‘life’ imprisonment.
Mandatory sentence = minimum term + imprisonment until release is authorised + release on life
license
Court decides the minimum term; the Parole Board decides whether a prisoner is safe to release. If
the license conditions are breached, the offender can be returned to custody.
- Challenging boundaries: assisted suicide & euthanasia
, Assisted suicide = Helping someone to commit suicide is an offence under s 2 of the Suicide Act
1961 (as amended by s59 Coroners and Justice Act 2009):
(1) A person (“D”) commits an offence if—
(a)D does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the suicide or attempted suicide of
another person, and
(b)D's act was intended to encourage or assist suicide or an attempt at suicide.
Euthanasia – Mercy Killing
Inglis [2010] -> mother help son to die because he was in vegetative state, was convicted
R v Ministry of Justice -> Lord Falconer’s Bill: medical assistance, with agreement of two doctors,
if “reasonably expected to die within 6 months”. In 2015 the majority of MPs voted against.
2) Manslaughter
Voluntary Manslaughter: intentional killing in circumstances that mitigate gravity of offence -
includes diminished responsibility (Homicide Act 1957, s.2) and loss of control (Coroners Act 2009
s.54). Also -> refers to circumstances will be normally murder but certain circumstances are making
it manslaughter, D intended to kill or to cause GBH.
Involuntary Manslaughter: unlawful killing without intent to kill or cause GBH - includes
constructive/unlawful act manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter
a) Loss of control
Defence of loss of control = introduced by ss 54/55 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 ->
abolished the defence of provocation (s 56), in force since October 2010 = partial defence only for
murder – reduces murder to manslaughter, can be a mitigating factor for other offences at
sentencing
Why changing the law?
Previously, the provocation defence (s 3 Homicide Act 1957) had the following two parts:
1) Did the provocation cause the defendant to lose his self-control?
2) Was the provocation such that a reasonable person would have acted similarly?
Why do we have the loss of control defence?
Historically – developed out of doctrine of ‘chance medley’
‘[A] humane concession to human infirmity and imperfection’
AG for Jersey v Holley [2005]
Losing control is sometimes (partially) excusable
The recognition by the law that sometimes it is reasonable to lose control:
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