Homicide Flashcards
R v Stone & Dobinson
Once you accept a duty of care you are criminally liable.
A couple took in their sister and didn’t look after her so she died- although they were of limited intelligence and deaf.
OMISSIONS.
R v Miller
Duty to act.
Homeless man squatting and smoking, house burnt down.
OMISSIONS.
R v Pittwood
Contractual duty
Gatekeeper failed to put the gate down so the driver died as was hit by a train.
OMISSIONS
Airedale NHS Trust v Bland
Courts can release defendant from the duty to act.
Bland was in a persistent vegetative state, NHS stopped supplying him with food.
OMISSIONS
White
Factual causation. But for test.
Not liable for mother’s murder despite poisoning her drink. She had a heart attack unrelated to this.
CAUSATION
Pagett
Legal causation. D’s act must be the ‘blameworthy’ and ‘substantial’ cause.
Appellant held a 16 year old girl in front of him, so she was shot and killed by the police.
CAUSATION
Blaue
Thin skull rule. Unexpected frailty of the victim is not any defence to the seriousness of the injury caused to them.
D stabbed Jehovah’s Witness who refused blood transfusion so died. No novus acts interventions by refusing the blood transfusion.
CAUSATION
Cheshire
Medical negligence following injury from being shot. Novus actus interventions. Cheshire convicted, not independent from the act of the defendant.
Cunningham 1957
Recklessness. Subjective test.
Ripped the gas meter from the wall to steal money. The gas then poisoned his mother in law.
Knowing disregard of risk.
Caldwell 1982
Objective test for recklessness.
Intoxicated, started a fire at the hotel. Argued he had no thought of endangerment of life but was still convicted.
R v G & R 2003
Cunningham recklessness used instead of Caldwell. 2003.
2 boys camping, newspaper on fire, spread to Co-Op causing over £1m of damage.
Conviction quashed as the boys were unaware of the risk.
R v Woollin 1999
Indirect intention so murder was changed to manslaughter.
The defendant threw the baby to the ground, baby died of a fractured skull. Did not directly intend the death but foresaw a risk of serious harm as a result of his actions.
R v Nedrick 1986
Indirect intention concept created (later developed by R v Woollin)
Poured oil through the letterbox and set the house alight and the child then died. Looking into the defendant’s mind “virtual certainty”.
R v Moloney 1985
Direct intent is up to the jury to decide. Intoxicated son shot his father and this was not established as indirect intention.
DPP v Smith 1961
Police officer was knocked into passing traffic. Objective test of intention changed to subjective in appeal.
Also established that GBH will be sufficient for murder if a death occurs as a result.
