DIMINISHED RESPONSIBILITY

Question 1

ACT

Answer 1

S2 Homicide Act 1957 as amended by s52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 2

DEFINITION

Answer 2

D was suffering an abnormality of mental functioning from a recognised medical condition which substantially impaired his ability to do one of three specified things and explain his act or omission in killing

Question 3

ABNORMALITY OF MENTAL FUNCTIONING

Answer 3

(Byrne) ‘ A state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal’

Question 4

RECOGNISED MEDICAL CONDITION

Answer 4

S52(1)(a) The abnormality of mental functioning must be caused by a ‘recognised medical condition’
- Can include: sexual psychopath (Byrne) ; chronic depression (Seers) ; pre-menstrual tension (Smith) ; battered wives syndrome (Ahluwalia) ; menstrual deficiency (Speake); post-natal depression (Reynolds); alcohol dependency syndrome (Wood)

• D’s menstrual condition must be proven medically, and the jury will decide

Question 5

SUBSTANTIALLY IMPAIRED

Answer 5

D’s ability to one of three things must be substantially impaired S52(1)(b)

a) understand the nature of his conduct; or
b) form a rational judgement; or
c) exercise self-control
- the impairment must be ‘important or weighty’ (Golds)
- D’s substantially impairment cannot come from intoxication alone (Egan, Dowds)

Question 6

EXPLAINS D’S ACT OR OMISSION IN KILLING

Answer 6

S52(1)(c) the abnormality of mental functioning must ‘explain D’s conduct in killing V’
- Factual causation- ‘but for’ D’s abnormality, he would not have killed (White)
- Legal causation- D’s abnormality was a more than minimal cause of the killing (Smith)