Murder & Manslaughter Offences Flashcards
*** Definition of Murder
Section 167
Culpable homicide is murder in each of the following cases:
(a) If the offender means to cause the death of the person killed:
(b) If the offender means to cause to the person killed any bodily injury that is known to the offender to be likely to cause death, and is reckless whether death ensues or not:
(c) If the offender means to cause death, or, being so reckless as aforesaid, means to cause such bodily injury as aforesaid to one person, and by accident or mistake kills another person, though he does not mean to hurt the person killed:
(d) If the offender for any unlawful object does an act that he knows to be likely to cause death, and thereby kills any person, though he may have desired that his object should be effected without hurting any one.
168 Further definition of murder
(1) Culpable homicide is also murder in each of the following cases, whether the offender means or does not mean death to ensue, or knows or does not know that death is likely to ensue:
(a) If he means to cause grievous bodily injury for the purpose of facilitating the commission of any of the offences mentioned in subsection (2) of this section, or facilitating the flight or avoiding the detection of the offender upon the commission or attempted commission thereof, or for the purpose of resisting lawful apprehension in respect of any offence whatsoever, and death ensues from such injury:
(b) If he administers any stupefying or overpowering thing for any of the purposes aforesaid, and death ensues from the effects thereof:
(c) If he by any means wilfully stops the breath of any person for any of the purposes aforesaid, and death ensues from such stopping of breath.
*** To show that the defendant’s state of mind meets the provisions of s167(b), you must establish that the defendant…
- intended to cause bodily injury to the deceased
- knew the injury was likely to cause death
- was reckless as to whether death ensued or not
*** Attempted Murder
Section 173
173 Attempt to murder
Every one who attempts to commit murder is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 14 years.
Section 72, Crimes Act 1961
Definition of attempts
(1) Having an intent to commit an offence,
Does or omits an act for the purpose of accomplishing his object,
Whether in the circumstances it was possible to commit the offence or not.
*** Counselling or attempting to procure murder
Section 174
174 Counselling or attempting to procure murder
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who incites, counsels, or attempts to procure any person to murder any other person in New Zealand, when that murder is not in fact committed.
*** Conspiracy to murder
Section 175
175 Conspiracy to murder
(1) Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who conspires or agrees with any person to murder any other person, whether the murder is to take place in New Zealand or elsewhere.
***Accessory after the fact to murder
Section 176
176 Accessory after the fact to murder
Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years who is an accessory after the fact to murder.
Section 71(1)
Knowing any person to have been party to murder
Receives, comforts, assists that person or Tampers with or
Actively suppresses evidence against that person in order to enable him to escape after arrest or to avoid conviction.
*** Voluntary manslaughter
Mitigating circumstances, such as a suicide pact, reduce what would
otherwise be murder to manslaughter, even though the defendant may have intended to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.
*** Involuntary manslaughter
Covers those types of unlawful killing in which the death is caused by an unlawful act or gross negligence. In such cases there has been no intention to kill or to cause grievous bodily harm.
*** To establish the death of a person what must you prove?
- death occurred
- deceased is identified as the person who has been killed
- the killing is culpable.
Death can be proved by direct and/or circumstantial evidence.
*** What is outlined in s66[2)?
66(2) Where 2 or more persons form a common intention to prosecute any unlawful purpose, and to assist each other therein, each of them is a party to every offence committed by any one of them in the prosecution of the common purpose if the commission of that offence was known to be a probable consequence of the prosecution of the common purpose.
Section 150A:
Before a conviction can be obtained for manslaughter where one of the sections referred to in section 150A(1) the prosecution must prove a “very high degree” of negligence or “gross negligence”. The expressions “very high degree of negligence” and “gross negligence” are not defined by statute.
*** Why is attempted murder so hard to prove?
The requirement for “intent” in section 72(1) suggests that only an intention to commit the offence will be sufficient and that there cannot be an attempt where an offence is defined solely in terms of recklessness or negligence. Therefore, this requirement on the Crown means that attempted murder is one of the most difficult offences in the Crimes Act to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.
** As a general guideline, most offences within the Crimes Act 1961, will require an intent (Mens rea) of some kind. Outline a defence that would therefore be generally available:
The defence of intoxication will be available to the defence to establish that the defendant did not have the required intent to carry out the offence
