Week 3 - Murder

Question 1

Murder

Answer 1

D commits murder where she, a person, unlawfully causes the death of V, also a person, under the King’s peace, with the intention to kill or cause grievous (serious) bodily harm (GBH).

Question 2

Basics of murder

Answer 2

• common law offence - not codified in statute
• not under homicide car 1957 or coroners and justices act 2009
• considered to eat he most serious offence.

Question 3

Actus Reus - Murder

Answer 3

1 - conduct element - any conduct which cases the result
2 - circumstance element - V must be a person, under the King’s peace, killing unlawful
3 - Result element - death of V

Question 4

Mens Rea - Murder

Answer 4

1 - Conduct element - Voluntary
2 - circumstance element - knowledge (person), knowledge (king’s peace), lack of belief in lawful ness
3- result element - intention to kill of cause GBH.

Question 5

Actus Reus Cases -

Answer 5

Kings peace - Adebolaio and another [2014] - D tried to argue killing wouldn’t amount to murder as they were fighting war -> not a battle, conviction upheld.
Of person - Poulton (1832) - D stabbed pregnant gf in back, went into premature labour and baby died -> not liable for murder as not fully expelled from womb.

Question 6

MR cases

Answer 6

• Cause GBH:
• DPP v Smith [1961] - ‘really serious harm’
• Janjua and Chowdhury [1999] - ‘series bodily harm’
• Cunningham [1982] - there should be no conviction for murder unless an intent to kill is established.

Question 7

Defences to murder - General

Answer 7

• lack of viable choice not to offend
• lack of responsibility due to mental abnormality.
• doctors and temrianlyl ill patients - Adams [1957] - D (doctor) charged with murder after having ‘eased the passing’ of several patients by pain relief drugs -> ‘he is entitled to do all that is proper and necessary to relieve pain and suffering even if measures he takes may incidentally shorten life’.

Question 8

Defences to murder - partial

Answer 8

1 - loss of self control - D kills while out of control owing to fear of serious violence and/or extremely grave circumstances given her justifiable sense of being seriously wronged, where a reasonable person would’ve acted the same way
2 - diminished responsibility - Ds recognised medical conditions led to an abnormality of mental functioning, and substantially impaired her capacity to understand the nature of her conduct.
3 - suicide pact - D kills V in agreement they will both die together.

Question 9

Critique or murder

Answer 9

1 - The MR for murder
- involving intention to cause GBH
- risky behaviour?
- malice afterthought
2 - Mandatory life sentence

Question 10

Reforming the MR for murder - Lord Goff

Answer 10

1 - Lord Goff - narrow MR to remove liability in causing GBH and direct intention only, involve where D is ‘wickedly reckless’

Question 11

Reforming thew MR for murder - Law commission

Answer 11

• new ladder of homicide offences:
• 1st degree - D kills with intention to Kill or intention to cause serious injury where conduct involved
• 2nd degree - where D kills with intention to cause serious injury
• Manslaughter - cases described under current law as involuntary manslaughter

Question 12

Reforming the MR for murder - Alan Norrie

Answer 12

• change divergence between legal and social definitions of murder
• narrow murder liability mad limit the potential unfair application of the MLS, risks removing powerful label that remains important within society.

Question 13

What is the Mandatory Life Sentence?

Answer 13

• brought in to remove death penalty - political compromise
• only sentence for murder - may not mean whole life in prison.

Question 14

How does the MLS work?

Answer 14

1 - tariff period - minimum period that D will spending person , judge considers aggravating and mitigating factors, min 15 years (12 if under 18), involvement of knife (25 years), whole life order (never released) - retributive, punishing.
2 - D can apply for parole to be released, focus is public protection.
3 - licence period - encouraged good behaviour, stay way from certain areas, if fail to act within boundaries of licence can be recalled to prison.

Question 15

proposed reform for MLS

Answer 15

• lack of flexibility it gives courts to impose a sentence which reflects actions of D
• e.g., Inglis [2010] - killed son in vegetative state after doctor told her son couldn’t cover, injected with heroin to OD.
• murder contains range of actions from more to less morally blameworthy.
• suggest murder should be codified in statute - differentiate between murder with intent to kill and intent to cause GBH.