Diminished Responsibility (VM)

Question 1

What is diminished responsibility?

Answer 1

• A person who kills may be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder if they were suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning which:
  (a) Arose from a recognised mental condition
  (b)Impaired D’s ability to:
  (i) understand the nature of his conduct
  (ii) form a rational judgement
  (iii) exercise self control
  (c) provides an explanation for D’s acts/omissions in killing

Question 2

What act is diminished responsibility defined by?

Answer 2

• s.2 Homicide Act 1957
• Amended by s.52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 3

What is abnormality of mental functioning?

Answer 3

Whether D’s mental functioning was so different to an ordinary human being that the reasonable person would find it abnormal

Question 4

Case for abnormality of mental functioning

Answer 4

• Byrne 1960
• D sexual psychopath who mutilated and strangled a woman
• Medical evidence showed his abnormality of mind meant he was unable to control his perverted ideas

Question 5

What is included as a recognised medical condition? (8)

Answer 5

• Psychotic condition
• Post-natal depression
• Mental disorder
• Alcohol dependency syndrome
• Depressive illness
• Aspergers’s syndrome
• Battered spouses’ syndrome
• Severe learning difficulties

Question 6

What one of 3 things must the AMF substantially impair?

Answer 6

Ability to:
- Understand the nature of their conduct
- Form a rational judgement
- Exercise self-control

Question 7

What amounts to substantial impairment?

Answer 7

• Matter of degree for the jury
• Must be more than merely trivial
• D’s mental functioning need not be totally impaired
• Golds 2016

Question 8

Explanation for D’s conduct

Answer 8

• AMF provides an explanation for D’s conduct/significant contributory factor (need not be the only factor)
• Must be a causal relationship between AMF and killing

Question 9

Burden of proof

Answer 9

• On the defence
• Only need to prove it on the balance of probabilities

Question 10

Intoxication

Answer 10

Alone it cannot support a defence of DR as it is not a recognised medical condition

Question 11

What was the case of Dowds?

Answer 11

• 2012
• D killed partner in knife attack while heavily intoxicated
• Not alcohol dependant

Question 12

ADS

Answer 12

• Alcohol Dependency Syndrome is a recognised medical condition
• Person cannot control their drinking
• May be the cause of an AMF

Question 13

What was the case of Wood?

Answer 13

• 2008
• If alcohol has caused damage to brain/become a disease, DR may be relevant
• However not every drink has to be involuntary

Question 14

Intoxication + pre-existing AMF

Answer 14

If D is already suffering from AMF and has taken drugs/alcohol, defence may be available

Question 15

What was the case of Dietschmann?

Answer 15

• 2003
• D voluntarily took alcohol, but was suffering from depressive grief
• Could use the defence of DR