Criminal 2 - Voluntary Manslaughter

Question 1

What are the two types of Manslaughter?

Answer 1

• Voluntary Manslaughter
• Involuntary Manslaughter

Question 2

What defence can reduce a murder offence to voluntary manslaughter?

Answer 2

If D is:

• loss of control
• diminished responsibility

Question 3

What are the 2 types of involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 3

• Unlawful act: kills someone while committing an unlawful act (but no mens rea for murder)
• Gross negligence: D breached DoC to V causing death

Question 4

What are the types of Voluntary manslaughter?

Answer 4

• Diminished responsibility voluntary Manslaughter
• Loss of Control voluntary Manslaughter

Question 5

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - what sort of defence

Answer 5

Partial

Question 6

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - who has BoP?

Answer 6

• Judge decides whether defence can be put to Jury, if so
• Prosecution has BoP- but only need show one element missing

Question 7

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - what is required?

Answer 7

• killing resulted from D’s loss of control
• qualifying trigger
• no disqualifying trigger
• objective reasonable for someone with D’s attributes to lose control.

Question 8

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - what are qualifying triggers?

Answer 8

• fear of violence
• things said or done of a grave character that led to a justified sense of being wronged
• a person of D’s sex, age with a normal degree of tolerance in the circumstances of D might have reacted in the same way

Question 9

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - what are disqualifying triggers?

Answer 9

can’t be:
- mere circumstances (traffic)
- D incited V to use violence
- Revenge
- sexual infidelity
- attempted murder

Question 10

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control - what are non-allowable characteristics when considering whether the reasonable person would have acted in a similar way?

Answer 10

• Bad temper
• Intoxication
• Extreme sensitivity
• PTSD
• Personality Disorder

Question 11

Voluntary manslaughter - loss of control and intoxication - what’s the beef?

Answer 11

Loss of control approached by standard of sober man. Taunts of alcoholism still contribute, but being drunk wouldn’t.

Question 12

Voluntary manslaughter - diminished responsibility - who has the burden of proof?

Answer 12

Defence to prove on balance of probabilities

Question 13

Voluntary manslaughter - diminished responsibility - what’s required?

Answer 13

• abnormality of mental functioning
• recognised medical condition
• explains D’s acts
• substantial impairment of D to
  — understand nature of conduct (respawn)
  — rational judgement (bro’s instructions)
  — exercise self control (devil)

Question 14

Voluntary manslaughter - diminished responsibility and intoxication - what’s the beef?

Answer 14

• If mental abnormality, would it impair despite being drunk?
• alcohol dependency - if caused D to drink then can be an impairment