murder Flashcards
what is the definition of murder according to lord coke
’ the unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being, under the kings peace with malice aforethought’
How would you define the actus reus for murder
Unlawful= unjustified , not in self defence
Reasonable creature in being= death of a human being. Death of brain stem, however killing a foetus is not murder
Under kings peace= not in the course of war
what are the rules on an omission
murder can be an omission which is a failure to act
e.g Voluntary DoC
Duty to act in a dangerous situation
contractual duty
What are the rules on causation
Legal- ‘but for’ test , but for D’s actions V wouldn’t have died
Factual- D was the operating and substantia;, significant more than minimal cause of V’s death
Intervening acts
- Act of a third party
- thin skull rule
- medical negligence IF palpably wrong
What is the mens rea for Murder
Malice aforethought
Types of intent
Express- intention to kill
Implied- intention to cause at least GBH
alongside either
Direct(specific) intent OR oblique where there is a virtual certainty that D’s actions may result in death
However D can still be convicted even if…
did not intend to kill
what is the rule on transferred malice
transferred malice is when the crime was intended for one person but ends up affecting a person it wasn’t meant for
AR and Mr must coincide at least once to prove transferred malice
