Other Offences

Question 1

The third major culpable homicide charge is infanticide.

What is infanticide

Answer 1

Where a woman causes the death of any child of hers under 10yrs in a manner that is culpable homicide…

…where at the time the balance of her mind was disturbed…

…due to not having full recovered from birth/lactation/disorder…

…to an extent she should not be held fully responsible

Question 2

Punishment for infanticide?

Answer 2

3 years

Question 3

Who decides on the mother’s state of mind? (Re infanticide vs murder)

Answer 3

The jury

Ex she’s charged with murder/mans and the jury believes her state of mind is due to the effects of childbirth, the jury is required to return a special verdict of acquittal for insanity.

However, if prosecutions have also filed an infanticide charge it’s up the jury to decide between them.

Question 4

S151, 152, 153 talk about legal duties to provide necessaries

What do the 3 sections cover?

Answer 4

151 - Duty to provide necessaries and protect from injury (vulnerable adults)

152 - Duty of parent or guardian to provide necessaries and protect from injury

153 - Duty of employers to provide necessaries

Question 5

As per s151, define “vulnerable adult”

Answer 5

A person unable, by reason or detention, age, sickness, mental impairment, or any other cause, to withdraw himself or herself from the care of another person

Question 6

What are some examples of “necessaries”?

Answer 6

Food
Clothing
Housing
Warmth
Medical care

Question 7

S154 makes it a criminal act to abandon a child under 6

What is the max term of imprisonment?

Answer 7

7 years

Question 8

S155 and 156 cover duty of persons doing dangerous acts / in charge of dangerous things

What are some examples of each?

Answer 8

155- administering surgical or medical treatment (except in case of necessity) has legal duty to use reasonable knowledge and skill

156- …has under his control anything whatever, animate or inanimate…legal duty to take reasonable precautions against danger/use reasonable care to avoid danger (vehicles, scaffolding, machinery, explosives, trains etc)

Question 9

Finally, what duty does s157 cover?

Answer 9

Duty to avoid omissions dangerous to life

Question 10

Can you be criminally responsible for driving someone (with no previous sickness etc) to commit suicide?

Answer 10

No

163- killing by influence on the mind
“No one is criminally responsible for killing another by influence on the mine alone except wilfully frightening a child <16 of sick person…”

Question 11

Are you criminally liable for accelerating someone’s death already suffering a deadly disease ?

Answer 11

Yes

S164 Acceleration of death
“Everyone who by any act or omission causes the death of another person, kills that person… even if the injury caused was merely to hasten his death labouring under some other disorder or disease”

Question 12

Are you liable if you cause someone to die but the death could’ve been prevented somehow?

Answer 12

Yes!

S165 “Causing death that might have been prevented”

R v Blaue - take your victim as you find them

Question 13

R v Blaue (causing death that might have been prevented)

Answer 13

“Those who use violence must take their victims as they find them”

Question 14

What are the two sections about “causing death”?

Answer 14

165- causing death that might have been prevented

166- causing injury the treatment of which causes death

Question 15

What happens if you injure someone and they die during the treatment of that injury ? Are you liable for culpable homicide?

Answer 15

Yes!

166- causing injury the treatment of which causes death

Must be a dangerous injury and the treatment is the immediate cause of their death. The degree of liability depends on the mens rea.

Doesn’t matter if the treatment is improper (so long as applied in good faith)

Question 16

What is meant by the term “novus acus interviens” ? (Regarding fatal treatment of injury)

Answer 16

Latin for: a new intervening act

An act that breaks the change of causation

Ie the patient who died because of an allergic reaction to a drug. The wound was healing before he died. The treatment was not normal, and the treatment directly caused his heath.

The defence of novus acus interviens was upheld.

Question 17

A person is wounded in a duel and died of the result of the surgical operation to treat the wound.

Is the person who inflicted the wound guilty of murder?

Answer 17

Yes

166- causing injury the treatment of which causes death

Question 18

A person is badly assaulted and requires an operation to treat his injuries. He dies under the administration of GA, is the assaulter guilty of murder?

Answer 18

Yes

166- causing injury the treatment of which causes death

Question 19

Suicide offences:

179- Aiding and abetting suicide

What is the wording and penalty?

Answer 19

14 years!

…incites, counsels, or procures any person to commit suicide, if that person commits or attempts to commit suicide as a consequence

Or aids or abets any person in the commission of suicide

Question 20

What’s an example of Aiding and abetting suicide?

Answer 20

Giving a tetraplegic an overdose of sleeping pills at their request.

There is a requirement that the aider actually “do something” to assist.

Question 21

Suicide pacts.

People who, in the pursuance of a suicide pact, kill another are guilty of …?

Answer 21

Manslaughter, not murder.

Obviously only applies if one dies as the result of an action by another person.

Question 22

What if two people self-administer an overdose as part of a suicide pact and only one dies.

Is the survivor liable?

Answer 22

Yes

Under s180 it is an offence (5yrs)

The survivor would be guilty of being a party to the death of the other.

NB they couldn’t be guilty of aiding an abetting (s179) as s180 suicide pact applies.

Question 23

Under s181, what’s the penalty for Concealing a dead body of a child?

Answer 23

2 years

Question 24

Under is 181 concealing dead body of child,

Explain the requirements for the section to apply?

Answer 24

The term child is not defined

The body is already dead when disposed of

The disposal must be done with the intent of concealing the fact of birth

Question 25

In fantasied is a charge brought against a mother who has killed her child as a result of her mind being unbalanced due to the effects of…?

Answer 25

Giving birth or lactation

Question 26

Because the law does not require a persons right to consent to death a person who helps another to commit suicide or who is part of a suicide pact but survives is responsible for the other person’s death.

What is the surviving person charged with?

Answer 26

Manslaughter

Question 27

As per s18 of the evidence act

Hearsay evidence is generally admissible if …?

Answer 27

A) the circumstances relating to the statement provide reasonable assurance that the statement is reliable and

B) the maker is unavailable or the judge considers it undue expense or delay in having them as a witness

Question 28

What are some factors (5) that demonstrate the reliability of a hearsay statement?

Answer 28

• the nature of the statement
• the contents of the statement
• the circumstances relating to the making of the statement
• the veracity of the person making it
• the accuracy of the observation of the person