Homicide, Murder and Manslaughter Flashcards
Section 158 - Homicide defined
Homicide is the killing of a human being by another, directly or indirectly, by any means whatsoever.
Homicide must be culpable to be an offence
Section 159 - Killing of a child
(1) A child becomes a human being within the meaning of this Act when it has completely
proceeded in a living state from the body of its mother, whether it has breathed or not,
whether it has an independent circulation or not, and whether the navel string is
severed or not.
(2) The killing of such child is homicide if it dies in consequence of injuries received
before, during, or after birth.
What is Culpable Homicide - Section 160.
160 Culpable homicide
(1) Homicide may be either culpable or not culpable.
(2) Homicide is culpable when it consists in the killing of any person—
(a) By an unlawful act; or
(b) By an omission without lawful excuse to perform or observe any legal duty; or
(c) By both combined; or
(d) By causing that person by threats or fear of violence, or by deception, to do an
act which causes his death; or
(e) By wilfully frightening a child under the age of 16 years or a sick person.
(3) Except as provided in section 178 of this Act, culpable homicide is either murder or
manslaughter.
(4) Homicide that is not culpable is not an offence.
Omission to perform legal Duty.
Duties imposed by statute are mainly common law duties. What are some duties?
…Provide…..etc
- Provide the NECESSARIES and PROTECT from injury (s151)
- Provide the NECESSARIES and PROTECT from injury to your CHARGES when you are
a parent or guardian (s152) - Provide necessaries as an EMPLOYER (s153)
4. Use reasonable knowledge and skill when performing dangerous acts, such as surgery (s155)
- Take precautions when in charge of dangerous things, such as machinery
(s156) - Avoid omissions that will endanger life (s157).
Section 162 sets out the time in which a death must occur in order to be seen as CAUSED by another. Explain Sect 162
For a death to be seen as caused by another, the death needs to occur
within a year and a day from the time the last unlawful act or omission occurred.
To establish death, what must you prove?
To establish death, you must prove the:
death occurred
deceased is identified as the person who has been killed
the killing is culpable.
What is the definition of Section 167?
Culpable homicide is murder in each of the following cases:
(a) If the offender means to cause the death of the person killed:
(b) If the offender means to cause to the person killed any bodily injury that is known to
the offender to be likely to cause death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not:
(c) If the offender means to cause death, or, being so reckless as aforesaid, means to cause
such bodily injury as aforesaid to one person, and by accident or mistake kills another
person, though he does not mean to hurt the person killed:
(d) If the offender for any unlawful object does an act that he knows to be likely to cause
death, and thereby kills any person, though he may have desired that his object should
be effected without hurting any one.
Explain Section 178 - Infanticide
178 Infanticide
1. Where a woman causes the death of ANY CHILD OF HERS <10 years in a
manner that amounts to culpable homicide AND
2. Where AT THE TIME OF THE OFFENCE the balance of her mind was DISTURBED
3. By reason of her not having FULLY RECOVERED from the effect of GIVING BIRTH to that or any other child OR
4. By reason of the effect of
lactation, or
5. By reason of any disorder consequent upon childbirth or lactation, to such an extent that she should not be held fully responsible, she is guilty of infanticide= term not exceeding
3 years.
Explain Section 179 - Aiding and abetting Suicide
Section 179(a) - 14 years
1. Incites, counsels, or procures 2. Any person to commit suicide
3. If that person
4. Commits or attempts to commit suicide in consequence thereof
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Section 179(b) - 14 years
1. Aids or abets
2. Any person in the commission of suicide.
Explain Section 180 - Suicide pact
Suicide Pact
Section 180
(1) Every one who in pursuance of a suicide pact KILLS ANY OTHER PERSON is guilty of
manslaughter and not of murder
(2)
- Where 2 or MORE PERSONS ENTER into a suicide pact, AND
- and in pursuance of it ONE OR MORE OF THEM kills himself
- any SURVIVOR is guilty of being a PARTY TO A DEATH under a suicide pact contrary to this subsection - not exceeding
5 years; but he SHALL NOT BE convicted of an offence against section 179 of this Act.
(3) For the purposes of this section the term suicide pact means a COMMON AGREEMENT between 2 or more persons having for its object the death of all of them, whether or not each is to take his own life; but nothing done by a person who enters into a suicide pact shall be treated as done by him in pursuance of the pact unless it is done while he
has the settled intention of dying in pursuance of the pact.
Explain Section 181 - Concealing dead body of child
Concealing dead body of child
Section 181 - 2 years
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years who DISPOSES of the dead body of any child in ANY MANNER with INTENT TO CONCEAL the fact of its birth, whether the child died before, or during, or after birth.
Case Law
- Murray Wright Ltd
- R v Tomars
MURRAY WRIGHT LTD
Because the killing must be done by a human being, an organisation (such as a hospital or food company) cannot be convicted as a principal offender:
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R v TOMARS
Formulates the issues in the following way:
1. Was the deceased threatened by, in fear of or deceived by the defendant?
- If they were, did such threats, fear or deception cause the deceased to do the act that caused their death?
- Was the act a natural consequence of the actions of the defendant, in the sense that reasonable and responsible people in the defendant’s position at the time could reasonably have foreseen the consequences?
- Did these foreseeable actions of the victim contribute in a [significant] way to his death?
Case Law
- R v Myatt
- R v Horry
R v MYATT
(Before a breach of any Act, regulation by bylaw would be an UL Act under Sect 160 for the purposes of culpable homicide)
It must be an act likely to do harm to the deceased OR to some class of persons of whom he was one.
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R v HORRY
Death should be provable by such circumstances as render it morally certain and LEAVE NO GROUND FOR REASONABLE DOUBT – that the CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE SHOULD BE SO COGENT AND COMPELLING as to convince a jury that upon no rational hypothesis other than murder can the facts be accounted for.
Case Law
- R v Murphy
- R v Harpur
R v MURPHY
When proving an attempt to commit an offence it MUST BE SHOWN that the accused’s INTENTION WAS TO COMMIT the substantive offence.
For example, in a case of attempted murder IT IS NECESSARY for the Crown to establish an ACTUAL INTENT to kill:
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R v HARPUR
Case Law
- R v Mane
- R v Blaue
R v MANE
For a person to be an accessory THE OFFENCE MUST BE COMPLETE AT THE TIME OF THE CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT.
One cannot be convicted of being an accessory after the fact of murder when the actus reus of the alleged criminal conduct was wholly completed before the offence of homicide was completed.
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R v BLAUE
Those who use violence must take their victims as they find them.
EXAMPLE - Victim stabbed but refused blood transfusion because of religious belief and died. The question for decision is what CAUSED her death. The answer is stab wound. The fact that the victim refused to stop this end coming about did not break the CASUAL CONNECTION between the act and death.
