A1- Murder Flashcards
Learn of the Actus Reus of murder, proving causation in murder, the Mens Rea of murder, and the criticisms of the current law and proposals for their reform
Who gave the first definition of murder? And why is it not defined in an Act of Parliament?
Sir Edward Coke gave the first definition of murder in 1797. It is not defined in an Act of Parliament as it was defined in Common Law.
What is the definition of Murder?
Murder is when a man of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any county of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the King’s peace with malice aforethought, either expressed by the party or implied by law, so as the party wounded or hurt died of the wound or hurt, within a year and a day after the same
What was meant by ‘when a man’ in the definition of murder?
Either a man or a woman
What was meant by ‘of sound memory’
Not legally insane ..
Capable of making their own decision by law
What is meant by ‘age of discretion’ in the definition of murder?
Over the age of 10 as this is the age of knowing right from wrong
What is meant by ‘within any county’ in the definition of murder?
This originally meant anyone within the UK but now means any British citizen can be tried in England for any murder they committed outside of the country
What is meant by ‘reasonable creature in rerum natura’ in the definition of murder?
The victim must be a living human being
What is meant by ‘under the king’s peace’ in the definition of murder?
The accused will be tried against the ruling monarch whether that is a king or queen
What is meant by ‘with malice aforethought’ in the definition of murder?
At the killing the accused must have the intent to kill or cause GBH. Preplanning or evil motive is not needed
What was meant by ‘within a year and a day’s in the definition of murder?
If the victim died immediately or within a year and one day of the incident due to their injuries it could still be classed as murder
This was later abolished in 1996
The ‘year and a day’s rule was abolished in 1996, why was this?
It was abolished due to advances in medicine and people staying alive for much longer while on life support
What 2 elements determine murder?
The actus Reus and the Mens Rea determine murder
Define the Actus Reus and give an example
The Actus Reus is the guilty act of the crime . This can be stealing, stabbing beating etc.
What is the Mens Rea and give an example
This is the guilty mind of a crime. This is also known as the intent behind the crime. For example it can be the instant passion to hurt, planning in anger to murder, the planning to go and murder, carrying a knife to cause someone to bleed/ die/ be seriously injured
List 3 actions that can lead to unlawful killing and apply AR to them
- Stabbing, the knife has fingerprints confirming that it was used in the murder
- Poisoning, the container will have a store attached to it and the purchase can be traced
- Lethal Blow (punch), finger prints/ DNA will be left on the victim
What is an indicatable offense?
This is an offense that can only be tried on an indictment after a preliminary hearing to determine if a grand jury is needed. This can be done for Murder, Rape, and Robbery
What 2 categories do Offenses against the Person fall into
-Unlawful Homicide
-Lawful Homicide
As defined by the Homicide Act 1957
What are the 4 instances in homicide is lawful
- killing in self defence
- war time to destroy the enemy
- interest of justice to make lawful arrest
- carrying out the lawful death sentence
What are the 3 types of crime
- crime against people
- crime against vehicles
- crime against property
What is causation
The defendants action must have caused the death of the victim. There are two types of this that must be proved
What two types of causation must be proved in a murder case
Factual
Legal
What is factual causation
An act or a circumstance that causes an event, which caused something else to happen, and this would not have occured if the act had not happened.
E.g. if Rob stabbed Rose , Rose would not have died
What is legal causation
The act must be the legal cause / reason for death. Or in cases where there is more than one reason for death then that act must be the moof death st significant.
There must be no novous actus interveniens (no intervening acts
E.g. Rose had fallen many times that day and had an unseen brain damage but later that same day Rose had stabbed Rob. The stabbing is the most substantial cause of death
What are intervening acts
An intervening act is an act or circumstance that is more significant than of the original act then the defendant is no longer the legal cause of death.
There are 3 types of intervening acts
What are the 3 types of intervening acts
- acts of the victim
- acts of 3rd parties
- medical intervention
Explain “acts of the victim” and give case law examples
This is where it can be seen that the victim was unreasonable in their means of escape thus causing their own death
- e.g. R v Roberts 1971- the victim was threatened with sexual assault so threw themselves out of the window. this was deemed reasonable thus the Robert was still liable for murder
- e.g. Williams and Davis 1992- they picked up a hitchhiker, who said that he was being robbed so he jumped out of the window. This was not looked at as there was no evidence of him being robbed, therefore robbery is not enough reason to jump out of a moving vehicle
Explain “unreasonable action of a third party” and give case law example
If the defendant causes harm to the victim, and then someone else also does something else to harm the victim.
- e.g. R v Pagett 1983- he was not her cause of death but he contributed significantly to her death by using her as a human shield.
- e.g. R v Rafferty 2007 (appealed in 2009)- the defendant was acquitted of manslaughter as he did not kill nor participate in the killing. It was the co-defendants that drowned the victim, causing his death
Explain “medical intervention” and give case law examples
if the original wound has healed but the victim later died due to the medical treatment they have been given then it is the medical teams fault.
- e.g. R v Jordan 1965 - the defendant stabbed the victim and the victim was taken to hospital. they had successfully treated the victim but the victim later died due to an allergic reaction to the drugs administered.
- e.g. R v Cheshire 1991 - accepted that the original injuries were no longer life threatening and the victim would not have died if he had received appropriate medical care . However, the need for a tracheotomy followed from the defendants original act which he still remains liable
What is the definition of Mens Rea?
Mens rea means the intention or knowledge of wrongdoing. It is sometimes referred to as the mental element or guilty mind. to establish the mens rea for murder, it must be shown that the defendant intended to kill or cause Grievous Bodily Harm. This is different to the motive of a crime which is the reason for a cause of action.
What are the 2 types of intent?
- Direct intent
- Oblique intent
What is direct intent?
This is where you clearly intend for the criminal act to occur
i.e. Mercy killing is an example of direct intent as the direct intention is for that person to die.
What is indirect intent?
This is where you do not necessarily want the act to occur but it is a virtual certainty of your conduct.
i.e robbing at knife point, it is greatly foreseeable that if something went wrong it could lead in the death of someone.
What is Grievous bodily harm?
This is the severest form of assault. it is committed when a person unlawfully and maliciously either wounds another person or inflicts GBH upon another person. It is considered an either way offence, which carries a maximum penalty on indictment of 5 years imprisonment and/or a fine.
