Summary
Summary Voluntary manslaughter - Criminal law
- Module
- A2 Unit G153 - Criminal Law
- Institution
- OCR
Summary of voluntary manslaughter including diminished responsibility and loss of control for OCR, written by an A* student
[Show more]
Content preview
Murder can be reduced to voluntary manslaughter - also knownas mitigated murder.
Special and partial defence to murder - special because it is only
specific to murder. Partial because it won’t lead to an acquittal, it
just reduces from murder to voluntary manslaughter.
Diminished responsibility:
The defence of diminished responsibility - s.2 Homicide act 1957,
as amended by the Coroners and Justice act 2009.
(no actus reus for defences but there are requirements)
Diminished responsibility requirements:
1. D must have been suffering an abnormality of mental
suffering. Byrne - a state of mind so different from that of
an ordinary person that a reasonable person would term it
abnormal.
2. Arised from a recognised medical condition.
The abnormality must have been arising from a recognised
medical condition.
Psychopathy / irresistible impulses – Byrne
Depression - Gittens
Battered woman syndrome – Ahluwalia
Alcoholism / Alcohol Dependency Syndrome – Wood / Stewart
Paranoia / Paranoid personality disorder - Simcox / Martin
Adjustment disorder – Dietschmann
Asperger’s Syndrome – Jama
Epilepsy – Campbell
Premenstrual tension – Smith
, Postnatal depression - Reynolds
Schizophrenia - Moyle
Excessive jealousy (Othello Syndrome) – Vinagre
Acute stress disorder – Robson
3. Which substantially impaired the defendant’s ability to:
understand the nature of his conduct (D may not
understand if delusional, in an automatic state, has learning
difficulties or low mental age etc.), form a rational
judgement (e.g. schizophrenia, paranoia), exercise self
control (Byrne was a seuxal psychopath and there was
medical evidence that he was unable to control his
impulses. Gold - jury should use its own common sense for
the meaning of substantially).
4. The abnormality must provide an explanation for D’s
actions in killing (causal link). Brown - must be a causal
link between D’s abnormality and the killing but need not
be the only one. Meaning the abnormality of mental
functioning need not be the only factor that caused D to kill
but it must be a significant factor.
Intoxication with diminished responsibility:
- Transient effect of drink/drugs on the brain cannot form
the abnormality (Di Duca) but intoxication does not prevent
D from using the defence if he has pre-existing mental
disorder.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller scarlettbuckle. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £4.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy revision notes and other study material for 14 years now