Murder Flashcards
what is the definition of murder?
the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the king’s peace with malice aforethought, express or implied.
what is the actus reus of murder?
unlawful killing
a reasonable human being
under the king’s peace
what does unlawful mean in terms of AR w case?
not legally justified. no presence of a defence. defences include self defence, war, and death penalty. r v clegg - soldier excessive force to shoot man 50 yard away in car.
what case was there a lawful killing?
Re A- conjoined twins - ruled lawful to kill on twin to save another.
what does the AR of killing mean w cases ?
intentionally accelerating death through an act or omission ( if u have a duty) even if someone is going to die anyway. eg. mercy killings n euthanasia. inglis- mum killed son in vegetative state w lethal does of heroin bc she thought he was in pain.
what does the AR of human being mean w cases?
v must be a reasonable person. not an embryo or brain dead person. AG ref no3 1994 states baby must be ‘fully expelled’ from the womb.
doctors often turn off life support so theyre are prevented from being liable for murder. malcherek v steel- switching off life support wasn’t murder
what does AR of under the kings peace mean w cases?
that killing an enemy of war isn’t murder but anyone outside of war is murder. killing a prisoner of war is murder. r v blackman- killed opponent who was seriously injured n no longer a threat. was under kings peace. r v page- killing of egyptian wasn’t on a battlefield so not under the king’s peace
in terms of causation what must you prove?
that d is the factual cause of v’s death and there are no breaks in the chain of causation and that d is also the legal cause of v’s death.
detail the rules of causation for murder w cases?
factual- but for test from r v white - but for d’s act or omission, v wouldn’t have died.
legal- de minimis principle, d’s act must be a more that minimum cause of the death (kimsey)
intervening acts- v’s own act( robert’s), actions of a 3rd party/medical negligence(cheshire, jordan smith- operating n substantial cause)
thin skull rule- take your victim as you find them(blaue)
also can be voluntary(robert’s) and involuntary (william’s)
what type of crime is murder (men’s rea)?
specific intent- can’t commit recklessly u have to have intent.
what does aforethought mean?
no previous planning or thinking is needed, only intention
what is the difference between express malice and implied malice?
express- intention to kill
implied- intention to cause gbh
what are the 2 types of intention for express malice?
direct intent- aim purpose and desire to kill (mohan)
indirect intent- virtually certain that death would occur and the v knows this (woollin)
what are the 2 types of intention for implied malice?
direct intent- aim purpose and desire to cause GBH (mohan)
indirect - virtually certain that gbh would occur and the d knows this.(woollin and could add vickers- d broke into v’s cellar n bet her up to death when she found him)
what’s another word for indirect/oblique intention?
foresight of consequences- if D didn’t intend a particular outcome but in acting the way they did realised that death or GBH might occur
