Diminished Responsibility Flashcards
Law Contained where:
s.2 Homicide Act 1957
s.52 Coroners & Justice Act 2009
s.52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009
A person who kills another is not to be convicted or murder if D was:
- Suffering from a AMF
- casued by a RMC
- that SI D’s ability to do things prescibed in 1A
and it provides an explanation for D’s acts
s.52 1A
SI his ability to
- understand his conduct
- Form rational Judgement
- Exerise Self Control
R v Golds 2016 - Questions
- Did D suffer from AMF
- Arise from RMC
- Did RMC SI one or more of 1A abilities
- Did it sustantially contribute to their killing of V
R v Bryne - Defintion
Old law of Abnormality of the Mind “A state of mind so different to that of an ordinary human being that the reasonable man finds it abnormal” - objective
R v Bryne 1960
- Sexual psychopath who strangled his victims and mutilated her body.
- Claimed he was unable to control his perverted desires and acted under irrisitable impulse
- CoA held that AMF/AOM covers all aspects of mind including
- Ability to control physical acts and make rational decisions
- Reduced Manslaughter
R v Golds 2016
Two psycharfitrists testifyed that D had psychatric condition that SI him
Jury did not accept that he was in midst of pyschotic epsiode
accepted Crowns assertion that it was ordinary domestic killing
R v Gittens 1984
D killed wife with a hammer then raped and killed his daughter
D was Suffering from depression and had been hospitalised from a sucicide attempt
Prior to killing consumed large amount of alcohol and presciption pills
CoA reduced conviction from Murder to Manslaughter
R v Golds - SI Def
Substaintial is ordinary word
“Where there is a weighty reason for it and not merely a reason whihc passes the trivial”
Law Com No.304 Example for Nature of Conduct
Young child who has spent protracted part of his life playing violent video games and then kills someone
- expected them to come back to life
Law Com No.304 - Form Rational Judgement Example
Abused wife suffering PTSD and kills husband and belives only his death will rid the world of his sins
Law Com No.304 - Exercise Self-Control Example
Man who believes that the devil is implanted within him a desire to kill and that he has to act upon it
R v Dietschmann 2003
D had been in relationship with his aunt
Suffered from depression when she died
After heavily drinking he attacked V that he belived damaged watch Aunt gave to D
HoL held altough intoxication cannot be taken into account for DR
Its up to jury to decide if despite his drink his AMF led to him being SI
R v Wood 2008
D was alcoholic and after drinking heavily was woken by V trying to preform oral sex on him
Repeated hit V with meat cleaver killing Him
CoA reduced Murder to Manslaughter
