MURDER Flashcards
how does Lord Coke define murder?
unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being under the kings peace with malice aforethought
What is the actus reus of murder?
the unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being under the Kings peace
what is meant by unlawful?
killing must not be justified for example self defence
What is meant by under the king or queens peace?
killing in the course of the war is not murder
what is meant by a reasonable creature in being?
death of a human being: this means brain stem death (MALCHEREK). Killing a foetus is not murder as it does not have an existence independent of the mother (ATTORNEY-GENERALS REFERENCE(no3 of 1994))
What must the act or omission be in murder
factual (WHITE, PAGETT, HUGHES) and legal causation(SMITH, PAGETT) of the death
when might the novus actus interveniens break the chain of causation?
Victims own act~ Corbett, Robert and Kennedy
Third party~ Pagett
Medical negligence(Cheshire) unless it is considered palpably wrong(Jordan)
If v has a hidden weakness, then d is expected to take them as he has found them—> THINK SKULL RULE~ Blaue
What is the mens rea of murder?
malice aforethought expressed or implied
intention to kill (express) OR intention to cause GBH (implied)
objective test will be taken~ DPP v SMITH
there does not need to be any ill-will
What does Vickers and Inglis set out?
d can still be convicted even if he did not intend to kill.
if he thought he was acting in Vs best interest
What are the 2 types of intention in murder?
Specific intention ~ Mohan
Oblique intention ~ Woollin and Moloney this is not intention in its self but it is evidence in which the jury may find intention (MATTHEWS and ALLEYNE)
What is transferred malice?
When d intended to harm one person but accidentally harms another (Latimer, Mitchell)
What does the principle of transferred malice state?
it will only apply to similar crimes (Pembliton)
What does the principle of joint enterprise state?
it doesn’t matter that D was not the one who actually injured V. All that matters is that D intended to hurt X, X intended to hurt D and in fighting back with D, V was injured ( Gnango)
What is the coincidence rule?
The actus reus and mens rea must coincide at least once( Fagan v MPC and Thabo Meli(series of events))
