Involuntary Manslaughter - Unlawful Act Manslaughter 2

Question 1

What is involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 1

an unlawful killing without the intention to kill or cause GBH

Question 2

What kind of offence is involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 2

a common law offence

Question 3

What are the two ways of committing involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 3

unlawful act manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter

Question 4

What is unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 4

Where D causes death through doing an unlawful and dangerous act, that they have the mens rea for

Question 5

What is gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 5

Where D causes death by breaching a duty of care towards V in a grossly negligent way.

Question 6

What are the 4 key elements to unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 6

1.D must do an unlawful act
2.The act must be objectively dangerous
3.The act must have caused the death
4.D must have the mens rea for the unlawful act

Question 7

must be an unlawful act

What happened in the case of Lamb 1967?

Answer 7

D and his friend were fooling around with a revolver when one of them was killed, however an unlawful act did not exist as they did not understand the risk of such a gun. V was not in fear of being shot.

Question 8

What is a key case to show there must be an unlawful act for the offence of unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 8

Lamb 1967

Question 9

What is a key case for criminal damage as the unlawful act in unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 9

Newbury and Jones 1976

Question 10

What is a key case for burglary as the unlawful act in unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 10

Watson 1989

Question 11

What is the second key element for the offence of unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 11

The act must be objectively dangerous

Question 12

What does it mean in the second key element of unlawful act manslaughter : The act must be objectively dangerous?

Answer 12

All sober and reasonable people would recognise that the unlawful act has a risk of some harm

Question 13

What is a key case to show that an unlawful act must be dangerous?

Answer 13

Church 1965

Question 14

True or False
D can cause emotional harm, which then leads to death, and be charged with involuntary unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 14

FALSE - there must be some risk of physical harm. (even if it is not aimed at V)

Question 15

What is a key case for arson as the unlawful act in unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 15

Goodfellow 1986

Question 16

What happened in the case of Goodfellow 1986?

Answer 16

D set fire to his council house, with the idea of getting a new one from the council. Instead his wife, son, and his son’s girlfriend were killed - D was convicted of unlawful act manslaughter, it did not matter that the arson was not intended towards anyone.

Question 17

What happened in the case of JM & SM 2012?

Answer 17

After a fight at a nightclub, V died from a ruptured artery, a rare injury to occur - D was charged with unlawful act manslaughter because a sober and reasonable person can foresee that D’s conduct could lead to some kind of harm.

Question 18

What happened in the case of Watson 1989?

Answer 18

V died from a heart attack 90 minutes after being burgled. The burglar smashed a window to break in and hurled abuse at V when he saw him. The burglary became physically dangerous once the old mans frailty became apparent to the burglar, as a reasonable and sober person can foresee that an old, fragile person may face harm in a situation like this.

Question 19

What happened in the case of Newbury and Jones 1976?

Answer 19

youths had thrown paving slabs from a bridge onto a passing train, smashing a window and killing a guard. This shows that D only has to make the mens rea for the unlawful act, it is not necessary to prove that D foresee harm.

Question 21

Factual and Legal causation must be proved for an unlawful act manslaughter offence, explain these both .

Answer 21

Factual - But for test (But for D’s action would V have died?)
Legal - was it a significant contribution, or was the chain of causation broken

Question 22

What is a key case for unlawful act manslaughter that shows that D cannot be charged if the chain of causation is broken?

Answer 22

Kennedy 2007 - where D prepared an injection of heroin for V to inject himself, V then self-injected and died - V’s voluntary act of injecting himself broke the chain of causation between D supplying and V’s death.

Question 23

What happened in the case of Kennedy 2007

Answer 23

D prepared an injection of heroin for V, V then self-injected and died. - V’s voluntary act broke the chain of causation between D supplying and V’s death.

Question 24

True or false
D requires the mens rea for unlawful killing to be charged with unlawful act manslaughter

Answer 24

False - they just need the mens rea for the initial unlawful act

Question 25

What happened in the case of *Newbury and Jones 1976*?

Answer 25

youths had thrown paving slabs from a birdge onto a passing train and killed the guard, shows that D only needs the *mens rea* for the initial unlawful act, whether or not they could foresee the harm

Question 26

What happened in the case of *Church 1966*?

Answer 26

V mocked D for the lack of his ability to satisfy her sexually, a fight developed , where D ended up knocking V unconcscious. D tried to wake her for 30 minutes and then believed she was dead. He threw her body into a river, medical evidence proved her cause of death was drowning. ## Footnote D was committing an unlawful act by knocking her out (as the risk of harm can be foreseen)

Question 27

What is key element 1 of unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 27

Did D perform an unlawful act?

Question 28

What is a key case to show that 'omission' is not enough of an unlawful act for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 28

*Lowe 1973*

Question 29

What happened in the case of *Lowe 1973*?

Answer 29

Mr Lowe did not call a doctor to his sick infant child. The child died from dehydration and gross emaciation. Mr Lowe was convicted of manslaughter by negligence rather than unlawful act manslaughter because an omission cannot be an unlawful act.

Question 30

What is a key case to show that an unlawaful act must be a criminal offence?

Answer 30

*Lamb 1976* ## Footnote (playing with gun)

Question 31

What is key element 2 in unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 31

Was it objectively dangerous.

Question 32

# Unlawful Act Manslaughter What is a key case for key element 2(Was it objectively dangerous?)?

Answer 32

*Church 1966* ## Footnote Threw V into river thinking she was dead, died from drowning.

Question 33

What is a key case to understand the difference between a victim that is old/frail?

Answer 33

*Watson 1989*

Question 34

What is key element 3 for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 34

Did the unlawful act cause the death?

Question 35

What is a key case to show the chain of causation being broken in unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 35

*Kennedy 2007*

Question 36

What is key element 4 of unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 36

Did D have the *mens rea* of the unlawful act?

Question 37

What is a key case for element 4 of unlawful act manslaughter (Did D have the *mens rea* of the unlawful act?)?

Answer 37

*Newbury and Jones 1976*

Question 38

What happened in the case of *Mitchell 1983*?

Answer 38

D tried to jump the queue at a Post Office. An elderly man challenged him. D hit the old man and pushed him. The man fell back onto others in the queue including an elderly lady who fell and broke her leg. She later died. D convicted of manslaughter even though the act was not intended towards the woman.

Question 39

What is a key case to show that the unlawful act does not need to be directed at the victim?

Answer 39

*Mitchell 1983*