Voluntary Manslaughter: Diminished Responsibility Flashcards
What two statutes govern diminished responsibility?
S.2 Homicide Act 1957 and S.52 CJA 2009
What is S.2(1)(a) Homicide Act 1957?
The defendant is not guilty of murder if they were suffering from an abnormality of the mind that is a medical condition
What is S.2(1)(b) Homicide Act 1957?
The defendant is not guilty of murder if they were suffering from an abnormality of the mind that impairs their ability
What is S.2(1)(c) Homicide Act 1957?
The defendant is not guilty of murder if they were suffering from an abnormality of the mind that gives an explanation for their actions
What is the aim of S.2(1)(a) Homicide Act 1957?
to understand the nature of the conduct and form a rational judgement
What was held in R v Brennan?
The defence must introduce medical evidence to support diminished responsibility
What is S.2(2) Homicide Act 1957?
The burden of proof is on the defendant to prove diminished responsibility by ‘balance of the probabilities’
What was held in R v Byrne?
A sexual psychopath was allowed the defence as he had a state of mind different to that of a reasonable person
Where are recognised medical conditions found?
‘International Classification of Diseases’ from the WHO. Mental, behavioural and neurodevelopmental disorders are referred to in the ICD-11
What was held in R v Lloyd?
Substantial “does not mean trivial or minimal. It is somewhere in between”, which does not really help anyone with statutory interpretation
What was held in R v Golds?
‘Substantial’ is a reason of importance to reduce murder to manslaughter
What was held in R v Dietschmann?
There must be an abnormality of mental functioning present before intoxication
What was held in R v Wood?
It must be decided whether the effect of alcohol was due to addiction, for it to be voluntary or involuntary
What was held in R v Stewart?
three-stage test for intoxication in diminished responsibility:
1. Abnormality of mental functioning
2. Was the abnormality caused by ADS?
3. Was the defendants ability substantially impaired?
What is the burden of proof on diminished responsibility?
Defence needs to prove diminished responsibility by balance of probabilities
