Murder Flashcards
0what is the definition of murder
where a person of sound memory and the age of discretion unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being, under the kings peace with malice aforethought
what is sound memory
defendant is sane
what is age of discretion
over the age of 10
what is an unlawfull kill
no justifiable circumstances for the killing to be lawful unless its self defence or execution
what does it mean by living human being
someone who is living, a foetus deemed by law is not living until out of the womb.
Attorneys general reference N0.3 1994
defendant cannot be convicted if there killing someone who is already dead.
what does it mean by kings peace
killing an enemy during wartime is not murder
what are the two types of causation needed in actus rea of murder
factual and legal
AR of murder
that the killing is unlawful, causation must be established, they are of sound memory, age of discretion and the victim must be a human being
MR of murder
the malice aforethought which is the intention to kill or cause gbh
what is needed to establish factual causation
the ‘but for’ test , but for the defendants actions the victim would have died anyway
case of R V white
poisened drink with potassuim to kill mum, mum died of a heart attack before , but for his actions she would have died anyway
what three things are needed to prove factual causation
- original injury was the operative cause of death
2, intervening acr was reasonably forseeable - thin skull test
R v smith
bayonet wound, dropped on way to medical, punctured lung, if D had never stabbed him he wouldn’t have been dropped. if original injury is operative and substantial cause of death then it is death.
what is important about the intervening event
an intervening act which is reasonably forseeable will not break the chain of causation , sometimes there is no intervening event that added to the death.
R v pagget
D used girlfriend as a human shield when escaping the police tried to shoot police, gf was killed , reasonably forseeable that the police would shoot back- didnt break the chain of causation
