Paper 1.10c - Diminished Responsibility Flashcards
What two types of defences is diminished responsibility?
Special; only applicable to murder.
Partial; reduces murder to manslaughter (discretionary life).
Who is the burden of proof on in diminished responsibility cases and to what standard?
Defence; in the balance of probabilities.
TRUE OR FALSE: Medical evidence is a requirement in both diminished responsibility and loss of control cases.
FALSE: It is only a requirement in diminished responsibility.
What section of what Act defines diminished responsibility?
s52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.
What are the three conditions required for d to receive the diminished responsibility defence?
- D must suffer an abnormality of mental function from a recognised medical condition (WHO).
- This substantially impairs d’s ability to:
- Understand the nature of his conduct.
- Form rational judgement.
- Exercise self control. - The above provides an explanation for d’s actions / omissions.
What is a case example for element one of diminished responsibility and what happens in it?
Byrne (1960)
D, a sexual psychopath, strangled and mutilated a young woman. Sexual psychopathy is recognised as a medical condition therefore he received the defence of diminished responsibility.
OR
Ahluwalia (1992)
D had been sexually and physically abused by her husband for years. She set him on fire one night when he was asleep and was convicted of murder. On appeal, she received the defence of diminished responsibility because battered woman’s syndrome had become recognised as a condition.
In the second element of diminished responsibility, what is meant by substantially and which two cases define this?
Byrne - substantial is defined by the jury.
Lloyd - substantial is more than minimal but less than total.
What happened in the case of Golds, the case study for element 2 of diminished responsibility?
D killed his partner and admitted his guilt. He had an abnormality of mental function from his condition; however there was no way of knowing if d was in a psychotic state when he killed - d was convicted of murder by jury as it was deemed he did not have a substantial impairment.
What are the three things d must not be able to do in order to qualify for element two of diminished responsibility?
- understand their conduct (delusions, learning difficulties)
- form a rational judgement (paranoia, schizophrenic)
- exercise self-control (psychopathy)
For element three of diminished responsibility, what must there be between d’s abnormality of function and the killing?
A causal connection / link eg the abnormality does not need to be the sole reason but only play a significant part.
Can diminished responsibility apply to a person who is only intoxicated? What is the case example of this?
No; Dowds - the temporary effects of alcohol cannot provide the defence of DR.
Can diminished responsibility apply to a person who is intoxicated and has an abnormality of mental function? What is the case example of this?
Only if D would have killed without the intoxication; Dietschmann - Lord Hutton: ‘Has D satisfied you that despite the drink, that his mental abnormalities substantially impaired his mental responsibilities for his fatal acts [..]?’
Can diminished responsibility apply to a person with an addiction to alcohol? What is the case example of this?
Yes, however the brain must be damaged from the addiction; Wood - D received brain damage from his ADS, so alcohol was consumed involuntarily.
