Criminal Law Flashcards
3 special defenses to murder?
Loss of control, diminished responsibility & suicide pact
What is discretionary life?
Maximum sentence is life imprisonment, gives the judge discretion to impose any sentence which is suitable for the circumstances. Sometimes judges may pass a non-custodial sentence.
What is unlawful act manslaughter?
Sometimes called constructive manslaughter, liability is built on fact that defendant did an unlawful act, which caused death.
What are the key elements of UAM?
1- defendant must do an unlawful act
2- act must be deemed dangerous (objective test)
3- act must’ve caused a death
4- defendant must have required mens rea for the unlawful act
Element one – the defendant must do an unlawful act
The unlawful act must be a criminal offence, a civil wrong it’s not sufficient
Cases for element 1?
Franklin (1883)- Defendant threw a large box into the sea from the pier, the box hit and killed a swimmer. it was held the act of throwing litter into the sea was a tort not a crime so not guilty
R v Lamb- Lamb his friend were fooling around with a revolver, both knew it was loaded with two bullets in five chambers. Didn’t realise chamber had turned. Lamb pointed gun at friend and killed him- NOT GUILTY, no assault or battery.
Cases for element 2?
Church (1965)- D fought with woman, knocked her out. Tried for 30 mins to wake her up, was unsuccessful. Thought she was dead and pushed her into a river, however she was alive and drowned. Argued he didn’t know the act of throwing her into the river was dangerous as he thought she was alive.
