Murder is committed when a person of sound mind unlawfully
kills someone else.
The actus reus of murder is the unlawful killing of a human being in
the Queen’s peace.
The mens rea of murder is an intention to kill or cause grievous
bodily harm.
Kill or grievous bodily harm to the victim: Grievous Bodily Harm
(GBH) means really serious harm ( DPP v Smith [1961] ). A harm can be a
GBH even though it would not pose a risk to the life of the victim (R v
Bollom [2003] ). Only an intention to kill or cause GBH is needed to
establish the mens rea of murder ( R v Vickers [ 1957] ).
INTRODUCTION TO MANSLAUGHTER
Manslaughter is a less serious form of homicide than murder. There are
two main kinds of manslaughter:
Voluntary manslaughter: (not on the exam) These are killings
which have the actus reus and mens rea of murder, but due to
existing circumstances it should not be called murder. For example, a
defendant who successfully pleads loss of control, diminished
responsibility, or suicide pact to a charge of murder will be guilty of
voluntary manslaughter.
Involuntary manslaughter: These are killings where the mens
rea of murder (intent to kill or cause Grievous Bodily Harm)
does not exist, but there is suicient fault to justify criminal
liability. Examples of involuntary manslaughter
include, reckless manslaughter, gross negligence manslaughter,
and constructive (or unlawful act) manslaughter.
VOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER:
1) SUICIDE PACTS
Suicide pact is a defence only to murder.
Section 4 of the Homicide Act 1957 provides that if the defendant
kills another in pursuance of a suicide pact he or she is
guilty of manslaughter, not murder.
, An example of a suicide pact is where a husband and wife agree
that they will die together. The plan is that the husband will shoot
his wife and then turn the gun on himself. He kills his wife but
someone stops the husband killing himself, or he loses his nerve.
The Law commission has recommended the abolition of this defence
to murder (Law Commission Paper No 177).
MERCY KILLINGS AND EUTHANASIA
Mercy killings and euthanasia are widely used terms to describe situations
where the defendant kills a person who is sufering from a terminal
illness.
The law is clear here: there is no defence of mercy killing in
criminal law. It is murder to do an act which significantly shortens a
person’s life, even if that person is in agony and asks to be killed. See,
for example, the case of R v Inglis [2011].
INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER:
1) DEFINITION OF CONSTRUCTIVE MANSLAUGHTER ( Unlawful
act manslaughter)
To be guilty of constructive manslaughter the defendant must be
proved to have performed an act which was:
(1) Unlawful;
(1) Dangerous; and
(3) Caused the death of the victim.
The House of Lords undertook a thorough examination of
constructive manslaughter in Attorney-General’s Reference (No 3
of 1994) [1998]
AN UNLAWFUL ACT
The defendant must have committed a criminal act, but violence is
not essential the case of R v Goodfellow [1986]
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