case law

Question 1

Murray Wright Limited

Can an organisation be guilt of murder.

Answer 1

Because the killing must be done by a human being, an organisation (such as a hospital or food company) cannot be convicted as a principal offender:

Question 2

R v Myatt

unlawful act

Answer 2

[Before a breach of any Act, regulation or bylaw would be an unlawful act under s 160 for the purposes of culpable homicide] it must be an act likely to do harm to the deceased or to some class of persons of whom he was one.

Question 3

R v Tomar

Answer 3

R v TOMAR

formulates the issues in the following way:

1. Was the deceased threatened by, in fear of or deceived by the defendant?
2. If they were, did such threats, fear or deception cause the deceased to do the act that caused their death?
3. Was the act a natural consequence of the actions of the defendant, in the sense that reasonable and responsible people in the defendant’s position at the time could reasonably have foreseen the consequences?
4. Did these foreseeable actions of the victim contribute in a [significant] way to his death?

Question 4

R v Horry

Proving death without a body.

Answer 4

Death should be provable by such circumstances renders it morally certain and leaves no ground for reasonable doubt - that the circumstantial evidence should be so congent and compelling as to convince the jury that upon no rational hypothesis other than murder can the facts be accounted for.