Murder Flashcards
Old Law: kinds of malice
Express Malice
Implied Malice
Constrictive malice
Beard
D committing rape, put hand over victims mouth and accidentally suffocated her. At the time that was murder under constructive malice
Modern Mens Rea: Statite
Homicide Act 1957 s(1)
Intention to kill or do serious harm (GBH)
Cunningham
Justification: Intention to cause GBH
If someone intends to do serious injury that will have unpredictable consequences, then cannot complain if death results, and they are treated as severely as if they intended it.
Gore
Doctrine of transferred malice.
D poisoned medicine for husband with intention to murder him
Husband survived, suspicion fell on his apothecary
Apothecary drank some medicine to try to prove there was nothing wrong with it and died/
Was held D could be convicted for the murder of V which she neither intended note foresaw
Pembilton
limitation of doctrine of transferred malice: Intent not transferred when D missed and broke a window (must kill another reasonable creature for the purposes of the AR of murder)
Moloney
Judge should avoid any elaboration of meaning an leave it to the jury’s good sense to decide if D acted with the necessary intent
Woollin
Where simple direction is not enough, jury must be directed that they are not entitled to find intention unless they are sure that:
Death or serious bodily harm was a virtual certainty.
The D appreciated that this was the case
Matthews and Alleyne
Woollin is cast as a rule of evidence not law: In the light of virtual certainty the jury are entitled to find D guilty of murder, but don’t have to
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. S 1(1)
Murder carries a mandatory life sentence
DPP v SMITH
Proving intent
D could be presumed to have intended to cause death/ GBH to V if a reasonable person would have foreseen the causing of death or GBH to V
Heavily criticised
Proving intenti: Legislation
Criminal Justice Act 1967 s8
