4 - Fatal offences against the person

Question 1

Lord coke definition of murder

Murder

Answer 1

“the unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being and under the King’s Peace with malice aforethought, express or implied

Question 2

The killing must be unlawful

Answer 2

It is not unlawful if it was done in self-defence, or in the prevention of crime (and the D used reasonable force)

Question 3

Killing

Murder

Answer 3

medical term not a legal one
brain stem death
the v must die

Question 4

Queen’s Peace

Murder

Answer 4

means that the killing of an enemy in war is not murder, unless it is a prisoner of war that has been killed.

Question 5

Reasonable creature in being

Murder

Answer 5

**Foetus **– The child has to have an existence independt of the th mother
Brain Dead
It is probably that someone who is brain dead would not be a reasonable person in being
Year and a day rule
Originally death must have occurred within a year and a day of the unlawful act - abloished in 1996

Question 6

malcherek and steel 1981

Murder

Answer 6

doctors are not liable for tunring off a life support machine

Question 7

“Malice aforethought express or implied

Murder

Answer 7

direct intent to kill or cause really serious harm
oblique intenti to kill or cause really serious harm

Question 8

Vickers 1957

Answer 8

D broke into the cellar of an old ladies sweet shop. He knew the old lady was deaf. She came down to the cellar and saw him and he punched her a few times and then kicked her in the head. She died of her injuries. Example of implied malice aforethought as he only indented GBH which resulted in death

Question 9

Foresight of consequence

Murder

Answer 9

The D does not have the mens rea for murder unless he foresaw that he would also cause death or serious injury – foresight of consequence

Question 10

Moloney 1985

Answer 10

D and his step father had been drinking at a party and playing “quick draw” seeing who could load the gun the quickest. Step father then said to the D “you haven’t got the guts to pull the trigger” D then did and step father was killed. D didn’t aim just pulled the trigger. Was not guilty of murder

foresieght of consiquence

Question 11

2 part test for foresight of consoquence

Murder

Answer 11

1. Was death or serious injury a virtual certainty
2. D had to realise that death or serious injury was a virtual certainty

Question 12

Woolin 1998

Murder

Answer 12

D had been feeding 3 month old baby son. Baby choked on the food and D admitted that he “lost his cool” and threw the baby towards his pram which was 3 or 4 feet away against a wall. Baby suffered head injuries and died.

virtual certainty

Question 13

Voluntary manslaughter

Answer 13

• Diminished responsibility – Homicide Act 1957
• Loss of control – Coroners and Justice Act 2000

that if one of these defences is successful then the offence of murder is reduced to manslaughter

Question 14

Loss of control

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 14

Loss of Control replaced the old defence of provocation
Loss of control is under s54 Corners’ and Justice Act 2009

Question 15

Requirements for loss of control

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 15

These 3 points have to be proved:
* D must have lost self control
* There must be a qualifying trigger
* A person of the same sex and age would have reacted in the same way as the D in the circumstances

Question 16

loss of self control

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 16

D must have lost self-control when doing the acts which caused death
The loss of self control does not have to be sudden – s54

Question 17

Ahluwalia 1992

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 17

D had been abused by husband for many years. He threatened her with violence the next day and went to bed. D waited until her husband was asleep, poured petrol on him and set him alight. He died several days later
She wasn’t at the time allowed defence of provocation because she hadn’t lost control immediately however under the new defence of loss of control she would have been allowed to claim loss of self control

Question 18

qualifying triggers

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 18

s55 of the Act sets out the qualifying triggers

1) D’s fear of serious violence from V against D
Martin 2002 – burglars
Ahluwalia 1992
2) A thing done or said which:
a) Constituted circumstance of an extremely grave character and
b) Caused D to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged

Question 19

Zebedee 2012

Answer 19

D lost control with his 94 year old father with Alzheimers and killed him. Tried to claim loss of control but not allowed and was convicted of murder as it didn’t fit with either of the two categories above.

Question 20

Loss of Control – Excluded Matters

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 20

**Sexual Infidelity is not a qualifying trigger **(despite it being allowed under the old defence of provocation)
It however can be taken into account in the circumstance surrounding fear of violence or things said or done

Question 21

Clinton 2012

Answer 21

Suffered from depression and was on medication. Killed his wife the day after she told him she was having an affair. She also taunted him showing him websites on how to commit suicide.
Allowed to claim loss of control as the sexual infidelity was only part of the circumstance

Question 22

Loss of Control – Excluded Matters -Desire for Revenge

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 22

Defence is not allowed if the D acted in a considered desire for revenge
If D had time to consider revenge then acted he cannot claim loss of control

Question 23

standard of self control

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 23

Defence is not allowed if the D acted in a considered desire for revenge
If D had time to consider revenge then acted he cannot claim loss of control

Question 24

Circumstances

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 24

Circumstances can be taken into consideration in deciding whether a normal person might have reacted in the same way

Question 25

Hill 2008

voluntary manslaughter

Answer 25

D was sexually assaulted as a child. V tried to sexually assault D. D lost control and killed him. Manslaughter rather than murder because of the circumstances.

Question 26

Involuntary manslaughter

Answer 26

An unlawful killing where the D does not have the intention to kill or cause GBH
It is a common law offence - Maximum up to Life Imprisonment

Question 27

Unlawful act maslaughter

involuntary manslaughter

Answer 27

Liability is built up from the fact that the D has done a dangerous unlawful act which has caused death (must be a criminal offence, not civil)

Question 28

Proving liability in unlawful act manslaughter

Answer 28

• D must do an unlawful act
• Act must be dangerous according to an objective test
• Act must cause death
• D must have the mens rea for the unlawful act

Question 29

Lamb 1967

Involuntary manslaughter

Answer 29

Friends messing around with a gun. Knew it had two bullet but didn’t think it would shoot as the bullet wasn’t in the opposite chamber. However Lamb fired and it killed his friend
Not unlawful as no assault as the friend did not fear

Unlawful act manslaughter

Question 30

Unlawful Act - Omissions

Unlawful act mansalughter

Answer 30

Must be an act an omission cannot create liability

Question 31

Unlawful Act – Dangerous Act

Answer 31

Act has to be dangerous on an objective test – set out in Church 1966
“sober and reasonable people would recognise the risk of some harm coming to the other person”

Question 32

The act need not be aimed at the victim
Mitchell 1983

Unlawful act maslaughter

Answer 32

– post office queue.
D threatened one man and punched him. V then fell into an old lady and killed her.
Convicted of unlawful act manslaughter – act was unlawful (punching) it was dangerous (likely to cause some harm) and it resulted in the women’s death.

Question 33

Some Harm

Unlawful act malsuaghter

Answer 33

**Sober and reasonable person has only to foresee some harm
**

Question 34

Goodfellow 1986

Answer 34

Set fire to his council property so that they would have to rehome him. Fire got out of control and killed his wife, son and another women
Convicted:
Act (arson) was committed intentionally (mens rea)
It was unlawful
Reasonable people would recognise the act on the property may cause some harm to another person
The act caused death

Unlawful act manslaughter

Question 35

causing the death

unlawful act

Answer 35

The unlawful Act must be the cause of death.
Causation applies ie. If there is an intervening act which breaks he chain then D cannot be liable

Question 36

Cato

Answer 36

D and V each prepared to inject heroin and water
They injected each other. One of them died. D was convicted of unlawful act
Problem occurs where someone else prepares the injection and then the V injects themselv

Question 37

Mens Rea of Unlawful Act Manslaughter

Answer 37

You have to prove the mens rea for the unlawful act
D doesn’t have to realise is unlawful or dangerous

Question 38

joint involvement

unlawful act

Answer 38

Held that there could be circumstances where both the V and D were involved ie. Injecting however I wasn’t clear what circumstance they would be

Question 39

Gross Negligence Manslaughter

Answer 39

Where the D owes the V a duty of care but breaches that duty in a very negligent way, causing death

Question 40

Adamako 1994 – 4 part Test

Gross negligence maslaughter

Answer 40

• There must be a duty of care to the Victim
• There must be a breach of that duty which should be grossly negligent and therefore a crime
• The breach must cause or significantly contribute to the death of the victim
• The breach must be gross

Question 41

duty of care

gross neg manslaughter

Answer 41

Normal laws of civil law applies in criminal eg. Donoghue v Stevenson and Caparo v Dickman

Question 42

Gross breach of duty

gross neg

Answer 42

has to be gross as per bateman 1925
objective test
reasonable man (of a similar skill)

Question 43

Risk of Death

gross neg

Answer 43

risk must be serious and obvious risk of death, not merely serious injury