Homicide Flashcards

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1
Q

Murder - mens rea

A

“Malice aforethought”, meaning:
(1) Intention to kill, or
(2) Intention to cause GBH

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2
Q

Murder - definition

A

The unlawful killing of a human being, within the King’s Peace, with malice aforethought

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3
Q

Loss of control defence - requirements (3):

A

AR + MR for murder is made out, but:

(1) D has suffered a loss of control
(2) The loss of control came from a qualifying trigger
(3) An ordinary person of D’s sex and age might have reacted the same in the circumstances

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4
Q

“Anger” trigger for loss of control must be…

A

… (1) as a result of things done or said, which (2) resulted in D having a justified sense of being seriously wronged

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5
Q

R v Clinton (2012)

A

Although sexual infidelity is not something “done or said” for the anger trigger in loss of control, it can be a relevant part of the context

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6
Q

Loss of control defence is excluded where there is evidence of…

A

… a “considered desire for revenge”

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7
Q

In the loss of control defence, how suddenly a person reacts to a provocation is important because…

A

… if they do not act suddenly, it will be harder to show they have “lost control” (although sometimes it may still be possible to do so)

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8
Q

R v Doughty (1986)

A

D killed his baby son aged 19 days when he wouldn’t stop crying. Under old law he could have pled loss of control, but under current law he wouldn’t be able to as he has no “justifiable sense” of being “seriously wronged”

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9
Q

R v Zebedee (2012)

A

D lost control when his father with Alzheimers repeatedly soiled himself and killed him. He could not use loss of control defence as he had no “justifiable sense” of being “seriously wronged”

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10
Q

Loss of control defence is set out in the…

A

Coroners and Justice Act 2009 s54(1)

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11
Q

R v Jewell (2014)

A

For loss of control, there must be evidence of a person having lost “normal powers of reasoning” going beyond simply bad mood, tiredness or irritation

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12
Q

What cannot count as something “done or said” in the anger qualifying trigger?

A

Sexual infidelity (on its own - unless part of a wider context)

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13
Q

“Fear” trigger in loss of control means…

A

… A genuine fear of serious violence, to oneself or another person

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14
Q

The “fear” trigger cannot be used when D has…

A

…incited the violence initially, with the aim of gaining a pretext for violence

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15
Q

Diminished responsibility - requirements (4):

A

AR + MR for murder is made out, but:

(1) D has an abnormality of mental functioning
(2) This arises from a medically recognised condition
(3) It substantially impairs D’s ability to (a) understand the nature of their conduct, (b) form a rational judgment or (c) exercise self-control
(4) It explains D’s actions in killing V

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16
Q

In diminished responsibility, the burden…

A

…of proof is on the defence, not the prosecution (but the standard of proof is only on the balance of probabilities)

17
Q

R v Byrne (1960)

A

In diminished responsibility, an “abnormality of mental functioning” is when a person’s mental functioning is so different from that of ordinary human beings that the reasonable person would term it abnormal

18
Q

R v Dietschmann (2013)

A

In diminished responsibility, if a person has a pre-existing abnormality but this then gets worse from drinking, the court must discount the effect of the alcohol and ask whether they would have had enough of an abnormality without it

19
Q

R v Wood (2008)

A

For diminished responsibility, Alcohol Dependency Syndrome which leads to a person drinking uncontrollably can be an abnormality of mind

20
Q

In diminished responsibility a person’s rational faculties must be impaired, but by how much?

A

“Substantially” - how impaired counts as “substantially” is a judgment call for the jury to make (R v Golds (2016))

21
Q

The two types of involuntary manslaughter are…

A

(1) Unlawful act manslaughter (2) Gross negligence manslaughter

22
Q

Unlawful act manslaughter - requirements (4)

A

(1) D commits a crime
(2) D has the mens rea for this crime
(3) D’s act is dangerous
(4) D’s act causes someone to die

23
Q

The requirement for D’s act to be “dangerous” in unlawful act manslaughter means…

A

…A reasonable person would foresee harm resulting from the act (even if not the specific type of harm that did result)

24
Q

For unlawful act manslaughter, committing a civil wrong…

A

…is not enough for the crime to be established

25
Q

Gross negligence manslaughter - requirements (5)

A

(1) D owes V a duty of care
(2) D breaches that duty
(3) The breach creates a serious and obvious risk of death
(4) The breach causes death
(5) The whole act is negligent enough to amount to gross negligence

26
Q

Case that sets out the requirements for gross negligence manslaughter

A

R v Adomako (1994)