Homicide offences

Question 1

murder

Answer 1

offence involving unlawful killing, where D possess the intention to kill or cause GBH

Question 2

voluntary manslaughter - loss of control

Answer 2

internationally killed with an intention to do serious harm but had experience a loss of control.

Question 3

voluntary manslaughter - diminished responsibility

Answer 3

intentionally killed with an intention to do serious harm but had experienced an abnormality of mental functioning arising from a recognised medical condition.

Question 4

involuntary manslaughter - unlawful act manslaughter

Answer 4

commits a criminal act that is objectively dangerous and causes the death of the victim

Question 5

involuntary manslaughter - gross negligence

Answer 5

killing where D owes a duty of care to the victim that duty has been breached in a manner that poses a risk o death or omission in bringing about that death

Question 6

malice afterthought

Answer 6

no requirement for premeditation or ill will. D need only intend to kill or intent to cause serious harm

Question 7

unlawful killing

Answer 7

murder requires that D accelerate the death of another person. Brain death

Question 8

under the queens peace

Answer 8

murder is only committed where the death is caused during a time of peace

Question 9

loss of self control

Answer 9

requires that the defendant has lost their ability to reason clearly

Question 10

when will a killing result from a loss of control

Answer 10

must be proven that D actually lost self control and the killing was not caused by some other reason

Question 11

qualifying triggers

Answer 11

attributed to fear o serious violence or a thing said or done that constituted circumstances of an extremely grave character and caused D to have a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged.

Question 12

another person ‘might have reacted in the same or a similar way’

Answer 12

person of the same sex and age as D with a normal degree of tolerance and self restraint and int he circumstance might have reacted in the same or a similar way. This is an objective test and is a question of fact for the jury.

Question 13

diminished responsibility

Answer 13

essentially a defence of partial insanity, suffering an abnormality of the mind but not a total loss of control

Question 14

abnormality of mental functioning

Answer 14

being a state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal

Question 15

recognised medical condition

Answer 15

medical evidence must be capable of discharging the burden on the accused

Question 16

substantial impairment

Answer 16

must impair D ability to (a) understand the nature of his own conduct (b) form a rational judgement (c) exercise self-control

Question 17

requirement that the abnormality of mental functioning provides an explanation for the killing

Answer 17

causal link between D abnormality of mental functioning and the killing

Question 18

dangerousness

Answer 18

all reasonable people would recognised the risk of some harm resulting therefrom albeit no serious harm

Question 19

gross negligence

Answer 19

conduct that is so bad it should be characterised as criminal

Question 20

risk involved in the breach of duty of care

Answer 20

serious and obvious risk of death from Ds negligence.

Question 21

when is D negligence grossly criminal

Answer 21

grossness is a question of fact for the jury who must consider whether the conduct of D was so bad in all the circumstances as to amount in their judgement to a criminal act or omission