diminished responsibility Flashcards
s2 of the Homicide Act 1957?
‘A person who kills or is party to the killing of another is not to be convicted of murder if they were suffering from such abnormality of mind as substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts and omission in doing or being party to a killing.’
what is burden of proof?
there is a reversal o the burden of proof, meaning that it lies on the defence.
what is a partial defence?
is successful, D’s conviction will be reduced from murder to voluntary manslaughter and will avoid the mandatory life sentence.
case for abnormality of mental functioning?
R v Byrne (an abnormality so different from that of the ordinary human being that the reasonable man would term it abnormal.’ element - 1
what does it mean by a recognised medical condition?
element 2
R v Ahluwalia - battered women’s syndrome .
R v English - pre-menstrual tension.
R v Reynolds - post- natal depression.
R v Sutcliffe - schizophrenia.
R v Gray - PTSD.
R v Woods - alcohol dependency syndrome.
what is needed so that the defendant can go through for diminished responsibility?
element 3 -
substancially impair Ds ability:
1) understand the nature of their conduct
2) from a rational judgement.
3) exercise self-control.
what does substantial mean as mentioned in the case of R v Golds Simcox?
substantial means more than minimal or trivial
what is element 4 of diminished responsibility?
the abnormality must provide an explanations for D’s acts or omissions in doing or being a party to the killing, meaning that there must be a causal link.
R v Deitchsmann (element 4)
if D is intoxicated and suffering from an abnormality, the intoxication must be disregarded.
one strength with the law on diminished responsibility?
the phrase ‘recognised medical condition’ is flexible enough to allow future development.
one weakness of the law on diminished responsibility?
burden of proof should not be on D - this breaches Article 6 ECHR.
law commission evaluation?
law commission has suggested those under 18 should be included in the definition of diminished responsibility, due to ‘developmental immaturity’
if the defendant is substantially impaired, what offence will they be charged for if it were murder and what are the 3 criteria to identify whether the D is impaired?
manslaughter
-to understand the nature of D’s conduct
to exercise self control
Section 52 of the coroners and Justice Act 2009?
replaced the definition of the law on diminished responsibility.the defendant must. now be able to illustrate an abnormality of mental functioning.
what was the issue with the old law on diminished responsibility?
outdated, and was not in line with all the new medical and technological advances.
