Voluntary manslaughter: Loss of control

Question 1

What are the different types of manslaughter?

Answer 1

Voluntary manslaughter
- Loss of control
- Diminished responsibility
Involuntary manslaughter
- Unlawful act/constructive manslaughter
- Gross negligence manslaughter

Question 2

What are the 3 partial defences to murder?

Answer 2

Loss of control - Coroners and justice act 2009
Diminished responsibility - Homicide act 1957
Suicide Pact - Homicide act 1957

Question 3

To not be guilty of murder through using Loss of Control, the defendant must have the following:

Answer 3

Coroners and Justice act 2009, s.54:
1) A loss of self control
2)Caused by a qualifying trigger
3) A person of defendant’s sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint would act the same way in the defendant’s circumstances.

Question 4

A loss of self control:

Answer 4

When the defendant kills the victim, the defendant must have lost their self control but the jury decides if this happened or not.
s.54(2) - There is no need for this to be a sudden loss of control however partial loss of control is not enough.
R v Martin 2017 - There is a clear distinction between the defence of self-defence and the partial defence of loss of control.