Fatal Offences

Question 1

What is the definition of murder?

Answer 1

“The unlawful killing of a human being in the Queens’ peace, with malice aforethought”

Question 2

What does Actus Reus mean?

Answer 2

The guilty act

Question 3

What does Mens Reus mean?

Answer 3

The guilty mind

Question 4

Under the definition of Actus Reus, what parts of the definition Murder goes under it?

Answer 4

Unlawful killeth
Wounded
Hurt
The sound, memory and age of discretion (Age of discretion, means that is the defendant at teh age of being able to take responsibility of the hurt that they have caused)
The act of omissions
Reasonable man
Within the Queen's peace

Question 5

Under the definition of Mens Reus, what parts of the definition Murder goes under it?

Answer 5

Malice aforcethought - premditated
(Intent to kill)
Intent to cause GBH (Implied intnet)
Oblique intent

Question 6

What does Express malice mean?

Answer 6

Where the defendant possessed an intention to cause death.

Question 7

What does Implied malice mean?

Answer 7

Where the defendant possessed an intention to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) of which had resulted into someone’s death.

Question 8

What does Oblique malice mean?

Answer 8

Oblique intention exists where the defendant does something in order to achieve their desired result knowing the consequences of this conduct will likely bring about another result.

Question 9

What is the current test?

Answer 9

A defendant now possesses the requisite Mens Rea for murder in the following situations:

1. Where they commits the Actus Reus of the murder with the intention to kill
2. Where they commits the Actus Reus of murder with the intention of causing grievous bodily harm
3. If they kill or causes grievous bodily harm as a means to achieve some other end.

Question 10

Dick decides to kill his mother. He puts poison in her coffee. The amount he used is too small to kill but his mother suffers an allergic reaction to the poison and dies anyways.

What malice is used here?

Answer 10

Express malice

Causing death is Dick’s primary intention. It does not matter that there was an extremely small chance that he would achieve this as he used such a small amount of poison.

Question 11

Derek has financial problems so sets a bomb to destroy his house in order to collect the insurance. He hopes that his wife and children will escape unharmed. The blast kills all Derek’s family.

What Malice or Intent is used?

Answer 11

Oblique intent.

Derek’s primary purpose is financial gain hence he has no direct intention to cause death. Oblique intention would be established by the application of the virtual certainty certainty test by taking into account the size and location of the bomb.

Question 12

Delia wants her husband to spend more time with the family. She slices through a tendon in his leg whilst he is asleep so that he will be too injured to leave the house. He bleeds to death.

What Malice or Intent would be used?

Answer 12

Implied Malice

Delia’s primary purpose was not to cause death neither was death a virtually certain consequence of her actions. She did intend to cause GBH so will be liable for murder even though the possibility death arising from her actions did not occur to her.

Question 13

What happens if you have caused a women to have a miscarriage?

Answer 13

If you cause a pregnant woman to miscarry, killing the unborn child, you can, and probably will, be charged with murder or manslaughter.

Question 14

What happens if you were to kill a pregnant person?

Answer 14

If you were to kill a pregnant person then you will only be charged for killing the person and not the child as the unborn child in law is not considered a real person until its been born.

Question 15

Involuntary manslaughter

Answer 15

• No intent to kill or cause GBH
• Either recklessness or gross negligence

Unlawful act manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter

Question 16

What is gross negligence mansalughter

Answer 16

Committed when someone in an official position commits and unlawful act that they should have been able to see would result in the death of another

Question 17

Unlawful manslaughter definition

Answer 17

Recognised by a sober and reasonable person as being dangerous and likely to subject the victim to the risk of some physical harm which in turn caused their death.

Question 18

Lawful manslaughter definition

Answer 18

Killing with the intent for murder but where a partial defence applies (namely loss of control, diminished responsibility or killing pursuant to a suicide pact.)

Question 19

Voluntary manslaughter

Answer 19

• Unintended killing with defences

Question 20

The difference between Involuntary and Voluntary manslaughter

Answer 20

The difference between the types of manslaughter is that Involuntary depends on what you are intended to do so for example if you were to slap someone and they fall over and crack their head open and die then that is Involuntary.

Voluntary is where you want to kill someone, of which you have a defence towards what you have done. For example someone was being abused and that person being abused over time would snap and could end up killing their abuser of which their defence would be that it would 1. be self defence and 2. they had insanity defence.

Question 21

Homicide

Answer 21

Actus Reus:

It is the same for whether you are talking about murder or manslaughter. They have the same definition.

Answer 22

If there was to be done in a dangerous place of which when you had caused Involuntary manslaughter, then you would have more of a case against you because you had done it in a dangerous place. If you do it in a less dangerous place then you wouldn’t have a bigger case against you.