Voluntary Manslaughter Flashcards
What is voluntary manslaughter ?
Voluntary manslaughter is when an unlawful killing takes place, wherein the actus reus and mens rea for murder is satisfied, however the defendant has a partial defence, as they had a reason they they commited the offence, allowing a reduction to manslaughter
What are the two types partial defence in voluntary manslaughter ?
Loss of control
Diminished responsibility
What act does loss of control come under ?
s.54 and s.55 of the coroners and justice act 2009
What is the test for loss of control ?
s.54(2) Loss of control
s.54(1)(b) From a qualifying trigger …
5.54 (1)(c) Normal person test…
What did s.54(2) define about “loss of control”
Loss of control need not be sudden
What did Jewell define “loss of control” as ?
“Loss of the ability to act in accordance with considered judgment or a loss of normal powers of reasoning”
What does s.54(4) define about loss of control ?
“If a person acts out of revenge, then the defence will fail. There can be no evidence of a plan or pre-meditation”
What are the two triggers under s.54(1)(b) ?
s.55(3) Fear of serious violence (Rv Ward)
s.55(4) Things said or done … (Rv Zebedee)
What was defined about s.55(3) Fear of serious violence ?
The fear of violence need not be reasonable as long it was honestly thought by D, and fear serious violence to another person qualifies
What was defined about s.55(4) things said or done ?
The things said or done must be of extreme graveness and give the D a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged. This is to be judged objectively
What is s.55(5) ?
Both triggers together *
What is the normal person test defined as ?
Would a person of D’s age and sex, with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint, and in the circumstances of D, react in the same or a similar way ?
What does Rv Christian define about the normal person test ?
Any character traits such as being unstable or irrational would be ignored
Which acts are diminished responsibility defined under ?
s.2 of the homicide act 1957 as amended by s.52 of the coroners and justice act 2009.
What is the test for diminished responsibility ?
- Abnormality of mental functioning
- s.52(1)(a) Which arises from a recognised medical condition
s.52 (1)(b) Substantially impairs D’s ability to … - Understand their conduct
-Form a rational judgment - Exercise self control
s.52(1)(c) Provides an explanation for D’s conduct…
What did Bryne define “abnormality of mental functioning as ?
“A state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings, that a reasonable man would term it abnormal”
What was defined under s.52(1)(a) about recognised medical conditions ?
The abnormality of mental functioning must arise from a medical condition that is recognised by psychiatrists according to an internationally defined list.
Examples of recognised medical conditions for diminished responsibility ?
sexual psychopath (Byrne) | chronic depression (Seers) | premenstrual tension (Smith) | battered wives’ syndrome (Ahluwalia) | mental deficiency (Speake) | post-natal depression (Reynolds) | alcohol dependency syndrome (Wood).
s.52(1A)(a) ….
Understand their conduct …
in an automatic state and does not know what he is doing e.g. D has delusions or severe learning difficulties.
s.52(1A)(b) …
Form a rational judgment …
D might know the nature of his conduct but might not be able to form a rational judgement
s.52(1A)(c) …
Exercise self control…
D cannot stop himself from killing.
What did Golds define about “impairment of ability to …”
The impairment must be ‘important or weighty’
