Diminished Responsibility Flashcards
What sets out the Law on Diminished responsibility?
S2(1) of the Homicide Act as amended by S52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
A person must not be convicted of murder if they suffer from an abnormality of mental functioning.
What are the three things that need to be proven?
A) Arose from a medical condition.
B) Substantially impaired the D’s ability to Understand the nature of his conduct, form a rational judgment, Exercise Self Control.
C) Provides an explanation as to why D is killed.
A) Abnormality of Mental Functioning Case?
Byrne - D’s mental functioning was so different that a reasonable person would deem it abnormal.
A) Abnormality of Mental Functioning S2(1) Homicide act 1957?
Abnormality of mental functioning must come from a medical condition.
A) Abnormality of Mental Functioning, Mental conditions?
Has a wide ranging definition including psychological and physical conditions.
Gittens - Depression.
Campbell - Epilepsy.
R v Wood - Alcohol Dependancy syndrome.
R v Bunch - Usually need evidence to succeed.
B) Substantially impaired D’s ability to? Substantially definition?
R v Squelch - Substantial does not mean total but it does not mean minimal.
B) Substantially impaired D’s ability to? S2(1A) Homicide Act 1957.
Understand the nature of his conduct which covers situations where the D is in an automatic state and does not know what they are doing.
Form a rational judgment, Schizophrenia or battered wife syndrome may prevent someone from forming a rational judgement.
Exercise Self Control, Byrne establishes that sexual psychopath unable to exercise self control.
C) Provides an explanation as to why the D is killed?
A causal connection between the D’s abnormality of mental functioning and the conduct.
The mental abnormality causes the conduct.
What are the three possibilities regarding intoxication?
1) Wood - D has brain damage due to alcohol misuse is a recognised medical condition.
2) R v Tandy - If the D is just intoxicated then this is not a recognised medical condition - R v Tandy.
3) R v Dietschmann - If the D has a recognised medical condition and is intoxicated at the time then the recognised medical condition is allowed.
