Partial Defences Diminished Responsibility

Question 1

Diminished responsibility- Act

Answer 1

S2 Homicide Act 1957 as amended by S52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

Question 2

Diminished Responsibility- Definition

Answer 2

D was suffering an abnormality of mental functioning from a recognised medical condition, which substantially impaired his ability to do one of three specified things, and explains his act or omission in Caitlin

Question 3

Diminished Responsibility- abnormality of mental functioning

Answer 3

‘A state of mind so different from that of an ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal’ (Byrne)
Recognised medical condition S52(1)(a) The abnormality of mental functioning must be caused by a ‘recognised medical condition’
Sexual psychopath (Byrne)
Chronic depression (Seers)
Pre menstrual tension (Smith)
Battered wives syndrome (Ahluwalia)
Mental deficiency (Speake)
Post natal depression (Reynolds)
Alcohol dependency syndrome (Wood)
D’s medical condition must be proven medical and the jury will decide

Question 4

Diminished Responsibility- Substantial impairment

Answer 4

D’s ability to do one of three things must be substantially impaired S52(1)(b)
- understand the nature of his conduct
- form a rational judgement
- exercise, self control
The impairment must be ‘weighty or important’ (Golds)
D’s substantial impairment cannot come from intoxication alone (Egan)

Question 5

Diminished Responsibility- Explain D’s act or omission in killing

Answer 5

The abnormality of mental functioning, must ‘ explained D’s conducting killing V’ S52(1)(c)
Factual causation: but for D’s abnormality, he would not have killed V (White)
Legal causation: D’s abnormality was more than minimal cause of killing (Smith)

Question 6

Diminished Responsibility- outcome

Answer 6

Succeeds: D’s murder charge will drop to voluntary manslaughter
Fails: D will be charged with murder