diminished responsibility Flashcards
What is DR and which section and Act is it found in?
Diminished responsibility is a partial defence to murder,
found in S.2 of the Homicide Act 1957 as amended by s.52 of the Coroner’s Justice Act 2009.
What does S.52 define DR as?
S.52 defines that “a person who kills may get the defence of diminished responsibility if they can prove they have an abnormality of mental functioning that arose from a recognised medical condition, it substantially impaired their ability to either understand nature of conduct, form a rational judgement or exercise self-control and is the reason as to why they killed”.
How many things must the defendant show?
4 things.
Which section explains mental abnormality?
Under S.52 (1), the defendant must be shown to be suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning.
What did R v Byrne rule?
R v Byrne held that they must have a “state of mind so different from an ordinary human being that the reasonable man would term is abnormal”.
Which section explains a medical condition and what is specifically required to prove that?
Under S.52 (1) (a), the cause of the abnormality must come from a medically recognised condition, including psychological and physical conditions to the brain.
And evidence is required from medical professionals.
Which case law showed that BWS is a medical condition?
Ahluwalia.
What did the case of R v Wood establish?
R v Wood established that Alcohol Dependency Syndrome (ADS) is also a medically recognised condition and that the defence is only allowed if the alcohol addiction is completely out of the person’s control.
Which section explains substantial impairment?
Under S.52 (1) (b), the medical condition must substantially impair the defendant (amount of impairment required is decided by the jury).
What did the case of R v Lloyd show for the impairment?
The impairment ‘need not be permanent but must be more than trivial and minimal’.
What 3 things is also required for the defendant’s ability for it to be considered as a substantial impairment?
It must also affect the defendant’s ability to either:
- Form a rational judgement where they don’t know what they did,
- Understand the nature of conduct where they can’t decide what’s right from wrong,
- Or exercise self-control where they can’t control their reflexes or urges.
Only 1 of the 3 abilities need to be substantially impaired.
Which section explains a reason?
Under S.52 (1)(c), the medical condition must be one of the reasons the defendant killed but does not need to be the sole reason.
What happens if the defendant is drunk?
However, deciding whether the defendant was impaired becomes difficult when they are drunk.
What did R v Dowds rule?
Intoxication alone will never allow the defence.
What did the case of R v Diechtmann show?
It shows that if the defendant suffers from a medical condition and is drunk, the jury decides if the medical condition impaired the defendant.
