Murder Summarised Notes for the Criminal Law module, LLB, at City, University of London (achieved a 1st class using these) - can of course be used for other universities as well! Would really recommend the full bundle of notes!
MURDER
Murder remains a common law and uncodified offence. Homicide Act 1957 and Corporate
Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 have codified several offences and defences of
wider group of homicide offences
Coke defines murder: someone of sound memory, age of discretion, unlawfully kills any person under
King’s peace, with malice aforethought, wound or hurt etc, die of that within a year and a day
Unlawfully kills another person under Queen’s peace, intending to kill or cause GBH
Law Reform (Year and a Day) Act 1966:abolished ‘within a year and a day rule’ causal link clear
with development of medics liable for murder regardless of delay
Murder committed where actus reus and mens rea satisfied includes ‘mercy killings’, with Vs
consent to relieve pain or suffering, mandatory life sentence
Actus Reus Mens rea
Conduct Any conduct causing the Voluntary
result
Circumstanc -V must be a person; -Knowledge
e -Under the Queen’s -Knowledge
peace; -Lack of belief in
-Killing must be unlawful lawfulness
Result -Death of V -Intention to kill or GBH
Actus reus of murder
Acts and omissions: any conduct causing result of death. Murder by omission – Gibbins and
Proctor
Under the Queen’s peace: when soldier kills enemies in war, not under Queen’s peace, not
murder.
Unlawful killing: satisfy all actus reus and mens rea elements, + no lawful defence
V must be a person: victim must be a human being
o When does V begin to be a person: unborn child (foetus) is not a person, if D kills unborn child
then can commit offence of child destruction or procuring a miscarriage, but not murder –
only becomes a person when ‘fully expelled from the womb’ and alive. Issue of prenatal
harms that causes postnatal death, where harms foetus that is subsequently born alive, but
later dies result of injuries, but murder not applied where D injures her own foetus through
neglect
o When does V stop being a person: death not always where stops breathing or heart stops
murder at ‘brain dead’ – Bland , where short of a brain dead, e.g. vegetative state or
permanent coma etc, not dead as person remains capable of being murdered
Causing death: Act or omission must cause death, factual and legal causation. Causing of death
includes ‘acceleration of death’ e.g. killing of terminally ill
Gibbins and Proctor (1918)
D1 (Gibbins) and his lover D2 (Proctor) failed to feed D1’s 7 year old child (v), resulting in Vs death
murder. D1 liable for omission to feed based on familial duty; D2 based on assumption of duty (she
in charge of buying food)
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