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English Criminal Law > Homicide > Flashcards

Homicide Flashcards

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1
Q

In England is murder a statutory offence?

A

NO

- murder is a common law offence

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2
Q

What type of sentence does murder carry?

A

A mandatory life sentence

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3
Q

What is the actus reus of murder?

A

unlawfully causing the death of another person

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4
Q

The actus reus of murder includes the word ‘unlawful’ what does this refer to?

A
  • Not self defence

- not wartime enemy

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5
Q

Can foetus or an unborn child be a victim of murder?

A

NO

- the actus reus refers to “another person” neither of which are regarded as a person under the law

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6
Q

What was abolished by the Law Reform (Year and Day rule) Act 1996, and what did this act propose instead?

A
  • Abolishment of the rule that a defendant could not be liable for their action of causing murder after one year and one day had passed
  • New rule is that if a death occurs within 3 years as a result of injury caused by the defendant can be liable
  • if after 3 years the AGs consent is needed.
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7
Q

Is withdrawl of treatment to which prolongs someones life causing death?

A

NO

  • Airedale National Health Service Trust v Bland [1993]
  • Bland in persistent vegetive state
  • Could breath on own but needed life support via feeding tube
  • HOL expressed that it is unlawful to cause or accelerate death but in this case it was lawful to withhold the life support treatment as there was no room for further improvement on the part of the victim and was in his best interests.
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8
Q

What is the mens rea of murder?

A

The intention to cause death or grievous bodily harm to the victim

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9
Q

What does the Homicide Act 1957 abolish?

A

s. 1

- Constrictive malice abolished

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10
Q

Must it be shown in the mens rea that there was malice or ill-will on part of the defendant?

A

NO

  • there need not be any malice or ill-will shown
  • provided it is satisfied that there was an intention to cause death or GBH satisfies the mens rea
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11
Q

What did the case of R v Woollen 1999 establish?

A

Woollin Direction

  • Where a defendant does not intend to kill or cause GBH
  • the jury will be directed by the trial judge that there is intention if the acts of the defendant were “virtually certain” in causing death or GBH and the defendant ought to have known this (subjective)
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12
Q

What did the Law Commission, Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide 2006 Report propose?

A

A three tier ladder which categorises homicides as

(1) First Degree Murder
(2) Second Degree murder
(3) Manslaughter

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13
Q

In the Law Commission Report of 2006 what did they say was difference between 1st and 2nd Degree Murder?

A

1st Degree murder

  • Intent to kill
  • intent to cause SERIOUS injury and aware that such injury could cause death
  • carries mandatory life sentence

2nd Degree Murder

  • intent to cause serious injury
  • intent to cause some injury or fear/risk of injury coupled with some awareness of serious risk of causing death
  • killing where partial defence of what would otherwise be 1st degree murder
  • carried discretionary maximum life sentence
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14
Q

What is the difference between voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter?

A

Voluntary
- Defendant still has actus reus and mens rea for murder BUT some extenuating factor lessens their sentence e.g. loss of control

Involuntary

  • Defendant lacks the mens rea for murder
  • No intention to kill or cause GBH
  • Still enough fault to satisfy criminal liability.
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15
Q

Identify which are crimes of voluntary manslaughter and which are crimes of involuntary manslaughter.

(a) Defendant successfully pleads loss of control to murder
(b) Defendant convicted of gross negligence manslaughter
(c) Defendant convicted of constructive (unlawful act) manslaughter
(d) Defendant successfully pleads diminished responsibility to murder charge
(e) Defendant successfully pleads suicide pact to charge of murder
(f) Defendant convicted of reckless manslaughter

A

Voluntary

  • (a)
  • (d)
  • (e)

Involuntary

  • (b)
  • (c)
  • (f)
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16
Q

When can the defence of loss of control be plead?

A
  • In cases of murder and only murder

- Defendant can not plead if victim survives

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17
Q

If a defendant successfully pleads loss of control will he be acquitted?

A

NO

- loss of control will still result in defendant being guilty of voluntary manslaughter

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18
Q

What Act regulates the defence of loss of control?

A

Coroners and Justice Act 2009

s.54

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19
Q

Briefly. What must a defendant show to prove loss of control?

A
  • he/she lost self control (subjective)
  • that loss was caused by some qualifying trigger
  • person of defendant’s age & sex with normal tolerance or restraint in defendant’s circumstances might have reacted similarly (objective)
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20
Q

One of the three limbs of satisfying loss of control is loss of self control in a subjective manner. What is meant by this?

A

The jury must look in to the mind of the defendant and decide if he/she actually lost self control

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21
Q

To satisfy the limb of loss of self control must the loss of self control be sudden?

A

NO

- no requirement to be sudden as established by Dawes 2013

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22
Q

Is an act of revenge likely to satisfy loss of self control?

A

NO

  • s.54(4) 2009 Act
  • act of revenge results in no defence
23
Q

Explain in simple terms the 3 aspects which satisfy a ‘qualifying trigger’.

A

(a) Fear of serious violence, even if wrongful belief (no need to show there was violence)
(b) Something done or said which creates circumstances of extremely grave character for the defendant and must have sense of being seriously wronged
(c) Combination of (a) and (b)

24
Q

Would fear of minor violence or damage to property satisfy a ‘qualifying trigger’?

A

NO

- The fear must be a serious one

25
Q

EXAMPLE
If John threatened to murder Lucy’s child and Lucy feared for her child’s life and in turn lost self control and killed John would she have a defence under loss of self control?

A

YES

- the defence is available where there is threat of serious violence to the defendant or another person.

26
Q

EXAMPLE
If John is with his wife Moira and John threatens to kill Lucy’s child. Will Lucy have a defence of loss of self control if she loses control and tries to hit John with a hammer but hits Moira and kills her?

A

NO

- it appears that the defence is not available where Lucy tried to kill John but missed.

27
Q

Can loss of self control be used as a defence where the defendant incites an attack upon them?

A

NO
- If the defendant incites attack from another and uses this as an excuse to use serious violence on that person, the defence will not be available.

28
Q

Why may loss of control be plead over self defence?

A
  • As the force used may have not been reasonable

- As the defendant may have had a means of escape

29
Q

What test is used to establish if a defendant feels he was seriously wronged?

A

An objective test, would the reasonable person have felt seriously wronged.

30
Q

Will a defendant be able to rely on sexual infidelity as a qualifying trigger to loss of control?

A

NO

  • s.55(6)(c)
  • Sexual infidelity alone a thing said or done which amounts to qualifying factor
31
Q

What happened in R v Clinton 2012?

A

Court held that sexual infidelity alone does not form basis of a qualifying factor, but where other factors are involved the sexual infidelity aspect may be used to give context to other factors.

32
Q

What did R v Asmelash 2013 establish?

A

That a voluntarily intoxicated defendant must show level restraint of sober person

33
Q

How is a defence of diminished responsibility proven?

A

On the balance of probabilities

34
Q

What crime is diminished responsibility a defence to?

A

Murder

35
Q

What must be shown to prove diminished responsibility?

A
  • Defendant suffering from abnormality of mental functioning
  • resulting from medical condition
  • must be shown that abnormality substantially impaired ability to understand the nature of their conduct
36
Q

What happens if a defence of diminished responsibility is successfully plead?

A

Charge of murder lessened to manslaughter.

37
Q

What happened in R v Vinagre 1979?

A
  • Defendant murdered his wife
  • Produced evidence he suffered from ‘Othello Syndrome’ a psychological disorder of extreme jealousy
  • Defence accepted as abnormality of the mind
  • Murder reduced to manslaughter
38
Q

What happened in R v Dowds 2012

A
  • Man became extremely intoxicated and murdered his partner
  • Asserted he had no recollection of what happened but accepted he was the cause of the death
  • Pled that he had a mental condition w and sought to rely on diminished responsibility
    HELD - Acute intoxication not sufficient to satisfy diminished responsibility
39
Q

What is infanticide?

A

the crime of a mother killing her child within a year of birth.

40
Q

Are there any defences to infanticide?

A

YES

- partial defence under s.1(1) of the Infanticide Act 1938

41
Q

What is a suicide pact?

A

Where there is a common agreement between two or more people to die with one another

42
Q

If a defendant fails to kill themselves after already killing another what will happen?

A
  • They will be charged with murder

- Burden of proof on the defendant to prove a suicide pact.

43
Q

What is required to have a charge of murder lessened to constructive manslaughter?

A

Liability on defendant who

  • committed an unlawful act
  • must be dangerous (risk of injury)
  • must lead to death of victim
44
Q

What happened in the case of Attorney General’ Reference (No.3 of 1994) [1998]?

A
  • Defendant had stabbed partner repeatedly whilst she was pregnant
  • Baby born prematurely and died 121 days later as a result of injuries sustained as a foetus
  • Subsequently d was convicted of murder
  • D did not satisfy the mens rea or even actus reus of murder
  • This case held that defendant could be convicted of constructive manslaughter
  • Extended principal of causing death to the victim to another person (this case the child)
45
Q

To satisfy constructive manslaughter must the defendant have intended or forsaw death from the unlawful act?

A

NO

- Only mens rea required is that needed for the unlawful act they have committed.

46
Q

What 5 requirements satisfy the offence of gross negligence manslaughter?

A

1) The defendant owed a duty of care to the victim
2) Negligence breach of that duty (objective test)
3) Reasonably forseeable that breach would give rise to serious and obvious risk of death (objective)
4) breach caused death (i.e negligence caused death)
5) Breach was so gross as to justify criminal conviction

47
Q

What happened in the case of R v Adomako 1995?

A
  • Anaesthetist failed to notice for six minutes that oxygen tube had disconnected from ventilator
  • Patient died as a result
    HELD - Adomako convicted of gross negligence manslaugter
  • Established he had a duty of care which was negligently breached
  • This breach was reasonably foreseeable in causing death and the breach did cause death.
48
Q

Why did Adomako fail in his argument that he was exhausted and inadequately trained?

A
  • The test is to establish how a reasonable person of the same skill set would act
  • Therefore, Adomako’s arguments were not this issue for the jury to decide if reasonable
  • Would be to test how the reasonable anaethesist would act
49
Q

What is the simplest way to show that a defendant’s breach caused the death of a victim?

A

If the defendant had acted reasonably would the victim have been killed

50
Q

What happened in R v Rose 2017?

A
  • Optometrist failed to conduct internal eye exam after consulting wrong retinal image
  • Boy had life threatening condition which could have been identified by the internal eye exam
    HELD on appeal - not guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.
  • Reasonable foreseeability test can only be applied to knowledge which the defendant has at the time of the breach
  • Not appropriate to take in to account what the defendant would have know BUT FOR the breach
51
Q

What is the meaning of dangerous driving?

A

Road Traffic Act 1988 s.2A

- Objective test

52
Q

What is the mens rea for dangerous driving?

A
  • there is no mens rea

- strict liability offence, only the actus reus need be proven

53
Q

Under the Law Commission, Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide 2006, what should the crime of manslaughter be redefined as?

A
  • Killing through a criminal act where intended to cause injury OR had an awareness the act involved serious risk of causing injury
  • Killing through gross negligence as to risk of causing death
54
Q

What did the Law Commission, Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide 2006 state about current murder law?

A

That the present law of murder is a mess.

English Criminal Law (9 decks)

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