Detailed revision notes for the partial defence to murder of diminished responsibility. Part of a 2 part series on voluntary manslaughter (the other being loss of self control). Document includes discussion on the elements of the offence, as well as useful criticism and tips for answering exam ques...
Voluntary manslaughter is a partial defence to murder. It occurs when both the actus
reus and mens rea of murder are present and satisfied, but the offence is reduced
from that of murder to manslaughter because there has been either a loss of self-
control (LOSC), or for reasons of diminished responsibility.
Both LOSC and diminished responsibility are a partial defence because it does not
lead to full acquittal. Instead the defendant is charged with the lesser offence of
voluntary manslaughter.
Exam tip – a good way to phrase this process to show good understanding of it is to
describe that ‘the defendant would not be found guilty of murder by reason of
LOSC/diminished responsibility’.
Diminished Responsibility
Source
The original offence of diminished responsibility was found in S2 of the Homicide Act
1957. This has since been replaced for S52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
The burden of proof is upon the defendant to prove that the partial defence is
present (S2(2) Homicide Act 1957). As the case of Foye confirms this does not breach
the presumption of innocent until proven guilty under Art 6(2) of the European
Convention on Human Rights
Elements of the defence
The defence of diminished responsibility was created to provide mitigation for cases
falling outside of the full defence of insanity, where a defendant who was suffering
from abnormal mental functioning which impairs their mental ability committed
murder, because it was believed whilst full acquittal should not be permitted, the
role played by the mental functioning was not worthy of the label of murder.
S52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009:
The following replaces S2(1) of the Homicide Act…
(1) A person who kills or is party to a killing shall not be guilty if suffering from an
abnormality of mental functioning which:
(a) Arose from a recognised medical condition
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