voluntary Manslaughter-Diminished responsibility Flashcards
Define diminished responsibility
`A person who kills or is a party to the killing is not convicted of murder if he was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning, which arose from:
a) Reciognised medical condition
b) substantially impaired D’s ability to reciognise the nature and quality of his conduct.
c) form a rational judgment
d) excersize self control
What act is DR set out by
Contained in the Homoside act and amended by the Coroners and Justice act s.52
Who is the burden of proof on?
DR
The defendant must prove his innocence
List all of the cases in DR
R v Byrne Reynolds Ahuwalia R v Martin R v sutcliffe R v dowds r v deitchman r v gittens R v Egan r v tandy r v wood
List the facts, law development and area of Bryne 1960
Facts: Man killed a girl in a youth hostel then mutilated her body. He claimed he had irrisistable impulses he was unable to control.
Ratio: Abnormality of mind was wide enough to cover the aspect of will power to perform physical acts in a rational judgement.
area: abnormality of mind
The byrne test is not needed to be applied to new law because the new law is more than efficient for psychiatric to evaluate mental functioning than mind.
What substantial impairment is
List the facts, ratio and area of Reynolds 1998
Facts: D killed V with a hammer
Ratio: Not guilty of murder but invol
Area: Pre- menstural tension/ abnormality of mental
List the facts, ratio and area of Ahuwalia 1992
Facts: D killed her husband whilst he was asleep
Ratio: she was suffering battered woman syndrome
area: abnormality of mental functioning
A02- she fits into coroners and justice act but didn’t fit into the last one, the act of DR is very similar to loss
List the facts, ratio and area of Lloyd 1967
Facts: D strangled his wife and killed her
Ratio: Judges wanted to know what was acceptable for an impairment. The court should approach this in a broad common sense way, to what is more than min.
Area: Substantial impairment- more than minimal
A02/ the concept of more than minimal is subjective to the jury oppinion, however in the abcence of any new case authorities on this spesific point, it could be argued that the decision in this case will continue to imply this law.
List the facts, ratio and area of R v Martin
Facts: Man shoots intruders on his drive as they leave.
Ratio: D not guilty of murder due to scitzophrenia
Area: abnormality of mental functioning
List the facts, ratio and area of R v Sutcliffe
Facts: D charged of 13 murders to women
Ratio: In the interest of public policy the jury were left to decide if the defence of scitzophrenia was allowed.
Area: forming a rational judgment
List the case names for intoxication relating to diminished responsibility
Gittens Egan Dietschman Tandy Wood
List the facts, ratio and area of Gittens 1984
Facts: D beat wife to death, went home raped and killed his daughter
Ratio: D can benefit from DR if the actions of D would still of been performed sober due to abnormality of mental functioning.
area: intoxication
List the facts, ratio and area of Egan 1992
Facts: D broke into elderly womans house and killed her
Ratio: Followed ratio in gittens and said can d prove he would of killed her if he was not intoxicated and can d prove DR at the time of the killing
Area: intoxicaton
List the facts, ratio and area of Deitchman
Facts: D was suffering barievment after the death of aunt and killed a random woman
Ratio: reversed the rule in gittens and implied that abnormality of mind along side the consumption of alcohol will satisfy the judge to hand over to the jury.
List the facts and law development in R v Tandy
Woman strangled her daughter to death after her daughter told of her step father sexually abusing her.
Ratio: Court of appeal held that for alcohol to produce an abnormality of mental functioning there must be BRAIN DAMMAGE so that there was a GROSS IMPAIRMENT and a craving for drink so much that the act is INVOLUNTARY
List the facts and law development in R v Wood
D (an alcoholic) had been awaken by the victim performing oral sex on D so D repeatedly hit him with a sledge hammer.
Ratio: drinking is truly involuntary if the defendant could not of acted otherwise, giving into a craving or withdrawal symptoms is not enough to be involuntary
Law development: Judge stated that as a matter of practical reality, the bar the defendant is expected to submit before diminished responsibility is too high.
A02/LD this is because it is easier for a psychiatric to submit evidence if the defendant can not resisit impulse or has suffered brain dammage.
List some of the criticisms of abnormality of mind from the complete criminal law
The complete criminal law suggested that:
1) it was vague and problematic in which abnormality of mind is not linked to a medical definition of mental illness
2) Is rigid because it excludes the killer who is compassionate and suffering a temporary mental imbalance such as depression as opposed to it actually impairing ability.
List some criticisms of the law commission of abnormality of mind
diagnostic practice has long since developed a narrow range of “causes” under the law which has had no relevance to psychiatric definition- disagreement
The phrase substantially imapair MENTAL RESPONSABILITY has had no clear definition and juries have been confused whether this means moral responsibility or the effect on mens rea
List some of the improvments in the law on dim resp
The law now explains that there must be a casual connection between AOMF and D’s conduct.
It facilitates psychiatricts to provide clearer evidence to court so juries can understand.
Which cases come under the cause of abnormality of mental function
Reynolds
Aluwalia
