Criminal Law: Involuntary Manslaughter

Question 1

What is involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 1

The unlawful killing where the defendant does not have the mens rea for murder.

Question 2

What are the two ways of committing involuntary manslaughter?

Answer 2

Unlawful act manslaughter - when the defendant commits an unlawful act which causes the victim to die.

Gross negligence manslaughter - when the degendant breaks the duty of care owed to the victim and they die.

Question 3

What are the elments of unlawful manslaughter?

Answer 3

AR: The defendant commits an unlawful act, The act is objectively dangerous, The act must cause the death

MR: The defendant must have the required mens rea for the unlawful act.

Question 4

What are two exmaple cases for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 4

R v Lamb 1967: It was held that the defendant did not commit an unlawful act (assualt) because the victim did not fear immediateviolence from lamb.

R v Larkin 1943: Defendant was convicted of manslaughter because he committed an assault which was also dangerous.

Question 5

What is an example case of gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 5

R v Adomako: set out the elements for gross negligence manslaughter
* The existence of a duty of care by the defendant to the victim
* an act or omission in breach of that duty
* the breach creates a serious and obvious risk of death
* the breach causes the death
* all must amount to gross negligence