voluntary manslaughter- loss of control Flashcards
what sections is loss of control defined under
s.54 and s.55 of the corners and justice act
what sub sections are included in section 54
Loss of control
Qualifying trigger
Need not be sudden
what sub sections are included in section 55
One of two qualifying triggers
Age sex and same degree of tollerence
Fear of violence from a grave character
Sense of being wronged
what was the LOC defence replaced by in 2010
the defence on provocation was replaced by the common law
Outline the 3 fundamental aspects of the LOC defence
a) a loss of control
b) must have a qualifying trigger
c) response to the trigger must be compared to that of a the same sex and age with a normal degree of tolerance and self restraint of D
outline the procedure for the allowance of the LOC defence on the defence
LOC is placed on the prosecution who must prove the defense beyond all reasonable doubt, only if sufficient evidence is provided.
Which 3 cases were rejected from the LOC defense due to insufficient evidence
Jewell
workman
barnsdale- queen
outline the facts and law development of jewell
D driven to V;s house to pick him up from work and shot him in rage twice with a shotgun.
Held: The judge refused the defence because it was out of point blank rage
Outline the facts and law development of workman
D murdred his wife
held: the judge directed the jury on loss of control but the jury held there was no sufficient evidence.
Outline the facts and law development of R v barsndale queen
D killed his wife and claimed she strangled herself in suicide and on appeal said that they did not believe his version of events
held: no sufficient evidence for loss of control
Outline the facts, development and area of dawes
D found his wife with another man, dawes began a fight with V and at his retaliation killed him.
D doesn’t get defence because it’s reliant on sexual infidelity and he hit V first so it is not a cumulative effect
Outline the facts, development and area of ward
D’s brother was attacked at a house party so he killed the boy who attacked him.
D feared violence on behalf of his brother and was sucsessfull with the defence
outline the facts, development and area of lodge
D attacked and killed a small scale drug dealer who earlier attacked him with a baseball bat.
D feared serious violence from V and was sucsessful with the defence.
What do ward and lodge have in common?
Lodge feared serious violence and so did ward, even though ward was on behalf of another person.
which cases outline insufficient evidence
Jewell, workman and barnsdale queen
which cases outline fear of serious violence
lodge and ward
which cases outline things said or done
clinton and dawes
outline clinton and the development of law
clinton and his wife were split, she sent sexual images to other men, he then killed her due to a series of other contributing factors.
Held: first trial was rejected as it failed to prove because of sexual infidelity being an exclusion from the LOC defence
On appeal: Held that sexul infidelity is allowed even though on its own it is not a defence but it is unrealistic to exclude it because its intregal to the facts of the case.
SI is allowed if it is a contributing factor.
outline self inflicted triggers
act of preclude reliance on loss of control where D’s fear of serious violence or sense of being wronged by a thing or things said or done was INCITED BY D FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING AN EXCUSE TO USE VIOLENCE.
Which cases supports the normal person test
Asmelash, camplin
Describe the facts and law development of Asmelash
D and V were flatmates and often drank together, D was intoxicated when murdered the victim in an argument.
Judge said that the defense was to be disregarded and not relevant in the ‘circumstances’ even though the intoxication caused him to act in a way in which he wouldn’t of sober.
describe the facts of camplin
D a 15 year old killed V by hitting him over the head with a pan. He pleaded the old law on provocation by saying the victim raped him previously and then laughed at him.
held: The jury are allowed to consider the age of the defendant
List some problems with the law that still exist
Fear of serious violence- is subjective
Sexual infidelity- lack of clarity opened up by clinton
