Culpable Homicide Flashcards
*** Homicide Defined
Section 158
Homicide is the killing of a human being by another, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever.
Homicide must be culpable to be an offence
However, in cases of:
* Manslaughter; an organisation can be convicted as a party to the offence (section 66(1))
- Murder, an organisation cannot be convicted as either a principal
offender or a party to the offence. This is because the offence carries a mandatory life sentence.
*** Culpable Homicide
Section 160
Culpable homicide means the killing is blameworthy. It includes murder, manslaughter or infanticide. Section 160(2) defines what constitutes culpable homicide:
(1) Homicide may be either culpable or not culpable.
(2) Homicide is culpable when it consists in the killing of any person—
(a) By an unlawful act; or
(b) By an omission without lawful excuse to perform or observe any legal duty; or
(c) By both combined; or
(d) By causing that person by threats or fear of violence, or by deception, to do an
act which causes his death; or
(e) By wilfully frightening a child under the age of 16 years or a sick person
*** Threats, fear of violence and deception:
s160(2)(d)
Examples of homicide caused by actions prompted by threats, fear of violence or deception are when a person:
- jumps or falls out of a window and dies because they think they are
going to be assaulted - jumps into a river to escape an attack and drowns
- who has been assaulted and believes their life is in danger, jumps from a train and is killed.
*** Frightening a child or sick person:
s160(2)(e)
In this instance, the fright need not be a result of fear of violence as under s160(2)(d), but may be caused by any act that frightens the child or sick person, so long as it is done wilfully.
“Wilfully frightening” is regarded as “intending to frighten, or at least be reckless as to this”
Killing by influence on the mind
Killing by influence on the mind alone is not a crime except as provided in s163.
This would apply to someone who mentally tortures another person who is already mentally or physically sick, so that the victim has a mental breakdown and commits suicide.
eg. A man took tests at a hospital for an ongoing stomach complaint. “For a joke”, a hospital employee sent him a letter saying he had terminal, inoperable cancer. If the man had, as a consequence, committed suicide, the sender of the letter could be charged under s163.
Exception of justification (non-culpable homicide)
Note that some acts are “justified” even when they result in death. Section 2 provides that when an act is justified the perpetrator is exempt from both criminal and civil liability.
Examples of such acts include:
* homicide committed in self-defence (s48)
* homicide committed to prevent suicide or commission of an offence
which would be likely to cause immediate and serious injury to the
person or property of any-one (s41).
Note that use of force here is limited to that which is reasonably necessary in the circumstances.
*** Common Law examples of culpable homicide
-Committing Arson
- Giving a child an excessive amount of alcohol to drink
- Placing hot cinders and straw on a drunk person to frighten them
-Supplying heroine to the deceased
- throwing a large piece of concrete from a motorway over bridge into the path of an approaching car
- conducting an illegal abortion
*** What is a strict liability offence, and provide two examples?
An offence that requires no intent.
The only way to escape liability is to prove a total absence of fault.
Driving with Excess Breath Alcohol
Speeding Offences (Traffic)
Supplying alcohol to minors
*** Wilfully frightening defined by Adams on Criminal law
“Wilfully frightening” is regarded as “intending to frighten, or at least be reckless as to this”. Adams on Criminal Law
Give two circumstances where culpable homicide is murder
Culpable homicide is murder in each of the following cases;
(a) If the offender means to cause the death of the person killed:
(b) If the offender means to cause to the person killed any bodily injury that is known to the offender to be likely to cause death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not:
Explain what is meant by section 160(2)(b) of the Crimes Act 1961, omission to perform a legal duty.
This covers cases where nothing is done when there is a legal duty to act, and certain cases of positive conduct accompanied by a failure to discharge a legal duty, in particular a duty of care.
How is the term “unlawful act” defined in section 2 of the Crimes Act 1961?
Unlawful Act - means a breach of any Act, regulation, rule, or bylaw.
