Loss Of Control Flashcards
Voluntary manslaughter specifically loss of control.
S.54 coroners and justice act 2009 sets 3 stages out
Stage 1- D must have lost their self control
S.54(2) Loss control dosent have to be sudden but the longer the delay the less likely the D will be to get the defence
D’s circumstances are also relevant according to (Gregson) in assessing whether the D did lose self control eg epilepsy, depression, unemployment , stress
Stage 2- S.55 The loss of control must be due to a qualifying trigger. There are two triggers the fear trigger (Lodge) or the anger trigger where the are things said or done (Zebedee)
Fear trigger- D’s fear serious violence towards themselves or another person (Lodge/Pearson) subjective test and D must have a genuine fear
Things said or done-Zebedee fully objective test:
1) There things said or done
2) The things said or done must amount to grave provocation
3) causes D to feel a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged
Stage 3- S.54(3)- Would a reasonable person of the same age and gender as the D and with a normal degree of tolerance have acted in a similar way (Holley)
