Homicide-Related Offences Flashcards
Infanticide
Infanticide is the third major charge in relation to culpable homicide,
although it is not as commonly used. Provisions for this offence are set out
in s178. Subsection (1) contains the major part of the provision:
178 Infanticide
(1) Where a woman causes the death of any child of hers under the age of 10 years in a manner that amounts to culpable homicide, and where at the time of the offence the balance of her mind was disturbed, by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to that or any other child, or by reason of the effect of
lactation, or 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, and not of murder or manslaughter, and is liable to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding 3 years.
Killing of the child must amount to culpable homicide
In cases of infanticide, the killing of the child must be in a manner that
would amount to culpable homicide. As well as establishing that fact, you
must prove the mother’s mind was disturbed as a consequence of the birth of
that child or of another child. The term “as a consequence” includes the
period of lactation.
Jury to decide on mother’s state of mind
If a woman is charged with murder or manslaughter, but the jury believes
her state of mind is due to the effects of childbirth, the jury is required to
return a special verdict of acquittal on account of insanity caused by
childbirth. However, the prosecution may file charging documents for both
infanticide and murder of an infant, and it is up to the jury to decide on the
mother’s state of mind.
In charges of infanticide, it is for the jury to decide on the mother’s state of
mind.
Legal duties
As discussed in chapter 1, legal duties are those duties imposed by statute
and common law. Many of these duties are set out in s151-s157. A failure to
discharge these duties makes the person liable to penalties, providing the
level of negligence required by s150A is reached.
Provision of necessaries
Sections 151, 152 and 153 concern the duty to provide those things and
conditions necessary to sustain life and protect from injury. Death resulting
from failure to meet the legal duty to provide the necessities of life and or
protection form injury can amount to homicide.
151 Duty to provide the necessaries and protect from injury
(1) Every one who has actual care or charge of a person who is a vulnerable adult and
who is unable to provide himself or herself with necessaries is under a legal duty—
(a) to provide that person with necessaries; and
(b) to take reasonable steps to protect that person from injury
152 Duty of parent or guardian to provide necessaries and protect from injury
(1) Every one who is a parent, or is a person in place of a parent, who has actual care or charge of a child under the age of 18 years is under a legal duty—
(a) to provide that child with necessaries; and
(b) to take reasonable steps to protect that child from injury
153 Duty of employers to provide necessaries
(1) Every one who as employer has contracted to provide necessary food, clothing, or
lodging for any servant or apprentice under the age of 16 years is under a legal duty
to provide the same, and is criminally responsible for omitting without lawful excuse
to perform such duty if the death of that servant or apprentice is caused, or if his life
is endangered or his health permanently injured, by such omission.
Vulnerable adult
Means “a person unable, by reason of detention, age, sickness, mental
impairment, or any other cause, to withdraw himself or herself from the care
or charge of another person”.
This definition largely re-enacts the terms of the former s 151(1), with
“mental impairment” substituted for the previous reference to “insanity” and
the former expression “charge” replaced by “care or charge”.
Vulnerability may be short-lived or temporary. Whether an adult is
vulnerable is a matter for objective determination and should not depend on
that person’s subjective perception.
Necessaries
Under the former section 151(1) the corresponding duty was to provide the
“necessaries of life” which encompassed commodities and services
necessary to sustain life, such as food, clothing, housing, warmth and
medical care.
There is no authority on what is meant by the concept of “necessaries” and
may be regarded as a “somewhat broader concept” than “necessaries of life”
Duty to protect from injury
The duty imposed in the above sections is to take reasonable steps to protect
a vulnerable adult or child from injury. In this context “injury” encompasses
not only bodily harm directly caused by other persons but also harm arising
from human activities and non-human sources.
Abandoning a child
Section 154 provides that it is a criminal act to abandon a child aged under
six:
154 Abandoning child under 6
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who unlawfully
abandons or exposes any child under the age of 6 years.
Note: Section 150A (Standard of care required of persons under legal duties
or performing unlawful acts) does not apply to section 154.
Dangerous acts and things
Sections 155 and 156, respectively, deal with the duties of people who are
doing dangerous acts or who are in charge of dangerous things.
155 Duty of persons doing dangerous acts
Every one who undertakes (except in case of necessity) to administer surgical or medical treatment, or to do any other lawful act the doing of which is or may be dangerous to life, is under a legal duty to have and to use reasonable knowledge, skill, and care in doing any such act, and is criminally responsible for the consequences of omitting without lawful excuse to discharge that duty.
156 Duty of persons in charge of dangerous things
Every one who has in his charge or under his control anything whatever, whether animate or inanimate, or who erects, makes, operates, or maintains anything whatever, which, in the absence of precaution or care, may endanger human life is under a legal duty to take reasonable precautions against and to use reasonable care to avoid such danger, and is criminally responsible for the consequences of omitting without lawful excuse to discharge that duty.
“Anything whatever”
Note that the term “anything whatever” in section 156 is extremely wide. It
includes such things as motor vehicles, trains, animals, ships, weapons,
machinery and explosives.
The term has even been held to include the machinery inside a mussel
factory. Things such as scaffolding that collapses due to faulty erection and
inspection, unfenced holes, or other “industrial-type” incidents may fall
within the provisions of this section, depending on the circumstances.
Omissions that endanger life
The duty to avoid omissions that may endanger life is dealt with in s157:
157 Duty to avoid omissions dangerous to life
Every one who undertakes to do any act the omission to do which is or may be dangerous to life is under a legal duty to do that act, and is criminally responsible for the consequences of omitting without lawful excuse to discharge that duty.
Encouraging death
Section 163 concerns killing someone by influencing their mind. This means
that if someone was driven into an extreme anxiety state by work or
domestic pressures, but had no previous mental or physical ailment, and
committed suicide, the person causing the anxiety would not be culpable for
the death.
163 Killing by influence on the mind
No one is criminally responsible for the killing of another by any influence on the mind
alone, except by wilfully frightening a child under the age of 16 years or a sick person, nor for the killing of another by any disorder or disease arising from such influence, except by wilfully frightening any such child as aforesaid or a sick person.
Acceleration of death
Instances where death may have been accelerated by another’s actions are
dealt with in section 164:
164 Acceleration of death
Every one who by any act or omission causes the death of another person kills that person, although the effect of the bodily injury caused to that person was merely to hasten his death while labouring under some disorder or disease arising from some other cause
