Murder Flashcards
Lord Coke’s definition of murder
Unlawful killing of a reasonable creature in being under the Queen’s peace with malice aforethought, either express or implied
Modern definition of murder
Unlawful killing with malice aforethought
First element of murder actus reus
‘Killing’ by act or omission
Acts: shooting, stabbing, strangulation etc
If there is a duty to act you can kill through omission;
Contractual, relationship, public office, assuming responsibility voluntarily, creating a dangerous situation
After actus reus..
Causation
D’s act or omission must cause V’s death
element actus reus murder ‘unlawful’
Martin
Force must be unnecessary
Examples of lawful killing
Surgical operation
Self defence
War
element of actus reus ‘reasonable creature in being’
Start of life and end of life
AG 3 1994
When a child is fully expelled from mother’s womb life starts
Steel
Life ends at brain stem death
Can you transfer malice from foetus to mother
No, can’t transfer malice from non reasonable person in being to a reasonable person in being
Airedale NHS trust v Bland
Life sustaining treatment can be withdrawn from a patient in a persistent vegetative state as long as the court has given permission and it is in the patient’s best interests to do so
element actus reus ‘under the Queen’s peace’
A country is not under the Queen’s peace if a war has been declared
DPP v Clegg
Express malice means
D intends to kill
Implied malice means
D intends to cause GBH (actually caused death)
Never recklessness- always intention
Defined grievous bodily harm
DPP v Smith
Enflict GBH onto another person
Implied malice case and principle
Vickers
Intention to cause GBH is sufficient for murder
Direct and oblique intention cases
Mohan
Woollin- objectively virtually certain, virtually certain view of defendant
