Murder

Question 1

Define murder’ Lord Coke

Answer 1

The unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being under the King’s peace with malice aforethought express or implied

Question 2

AR - Unlawful killing & case

Answer 2

Can arise from an act or omission

Gibbins & Proctor - omission was criminal as they had a duty to act

Question 3

AR - reasonable creature in being

Answer 3

• Victim must be a reasonable creature in being at the time of the defendant’s act causing death

Question 4

What is excluded in being a ‘reasonable creature in being’

Answer 4

A foetus is not classed as a human being- AG ref no. 3 of 1994

Life support machines - Does not break chain of causation, V is classified as dead if they are brain dead

Question 5

AR - Under the King’s peace & case

Answer 5

• If the killing did not take place during the course of war then it amounts to murder

Adeboajo - guilty of murder as he was not acting during the course of war

Question 6

Why is causation an important part of murder?

Answer 6

It must be proven that the D caused V’s death

Question 7

What is meant by factual causation?

Answer 7

‘but for’ test - But for D’s actions, would the outcome have still occurred?

Question 8

case for factual causation

Answer 8

R v White - but for D’s act of poisoning his mother, would she have lived? Not the case as she died due to a heart attack, not the poison itself

Question 9

What is meant by legal causation?

Answer 9

Was D more than a minimal cause of death or injury?

Question 10

Case for legal causation

Answer 10

R v Pagett - D was the operating and substantial cause of his pregnant girlfriend’s death by using her as a human shield against police officers

Question 11

Thin skull rule

Answer 11

• V has a religious belief, phobia or pre existing condition that worsens the situation
• Does not break causation, must take V as you find them

Question 12

Third party intervention

Answer 12

3rd party makes the situation worse

Question 13

Medical treatment

Answer 13

Negligent medical treatment will only make the situation worse where the treatment was so overwhelmingly bad as to be gross, it renders D’s actions insignificant to the final injury

Question 14

Mens rea - express

Answer 14

D has direct intent to kill
or
Oblique intent - Death was a virtual certainty

Question 15

Mens rea - Implied

Answer 15

Direct intent for GBH

Oblique intent for GBH - Virtually certain outcome

Question 16

Case for mens rea

Answer 16

Woolin - D threw his baby, did not mean to kill however death was a virtually certain outcome and D was aware of this