Fatal Offences Flashcards by Sophia Bennetts

what is the definition of murder?

unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the King’s peace with malice aforethought

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examples of lawful killing

killing in self defence
killing in wartime
doctors withdrawing
killing in prevention of a crime

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what is needed to find causation of murder?

use the but for test e.g. R v White
legal causation e.g. R v Paget

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what happened in R v Holland

guy’s finger got cute, he ended up getting infection and died

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what happened in R v Walace?

sulfuric acid was thrown over victim and he ended up getting euthinised

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what 2 things don’t count as a ‘human being’
plus examples

fetus in the womb - R v Poulton
someone who is brain dead - Malcherek

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what are the 2 mens rea of murder?

1) express malice aforethought: intent to kill
2) implied malice aforethought - intent to cause GBH

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example of implied malice aforethought

R v Vickers
intended to cause GBH to old woman who owned a sweet shop with deaf woman

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3 types of getting sentence reduced and who is allowed to and not

Whole life term - for exceptionally serious cases e.g. premeditated killings of two or more people, sexual or sadistic child murder or political murder.

Thirty years minimum - for murders of police or prison officers, murders involving firearms, sexual or sadistic killings or killings aggravated by race or sexual orientation.

Fifteen years minimum - for all other murders.

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what are 2 partial defences to murder to turn it into voluntary manslaughter

1 - diminished responsibility
2 - loss of control

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what is the sentencing for voluntary manslaughter?

judges can chose any sentence they want

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what is diminished responsibility?

getting a lesser sentence due to certain reasons

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what is the whole legal description for diminished responsibility?

A person who kills or is a party to the killing of another is not to be convicted of murder if defendant was suffering form an abnormality of mental functioning which -

a) arose from a recognised medical condition
b) substantially impaired defendants liability to (1A)
c) provides an explanation for defendants acts and omissions in doing or being a party to the killing

(1A) those things are
a - to understand the nature of D’s conduct
b - to form a rational judgement
c - to excercise self control

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who has burden of proof when it comes to diminished responsibility?

the defendant
they have to prove why they did their actions

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what principle did R v Byrne show?

mental conditions can be used as a defence

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Byrne?

Psychopath

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Vinarge?

extreme jealousy

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Ahluwalia?

battered woman syndrome

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Thornton?

battered woman syndrome

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Smith?

Premenstrual tension

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Reynolds?

Postnatal depression

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what mental abnormality was shown in R v Campbell?

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epilepsy and brain damage

what mental abnormality was shown in Kerrie Gray

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PTSD

what did S52 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 say?

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alcohol can’t be use diminished responsibility in a case

example of voluntary intoxication not being used as a defence

R v Di Duca

what was the principle decided in R v Dietschmann?

disregarding alcohol, would the abnormality still have made the death happen?

What was decided in R v Woods (alcohol dependence syndrome)

if alcohol consumption causes brain damage, it can be used as a defence

What was in the S54 Coroners and Justice Act 2009

not convicted of murder if - - defendant's acts and omissions in killing resulted from D's loss of control - the loss of self control had a qualifying trigger - a person of similar age, tolerance etc. would react in a similar way

what case was loss of control decided in?

R v jewell

can loss of control be gained over a period of time?

yes

Case example of fear of serious violence

R v Dawes

Example of 'things done or said of an extreme grave character' case

R v Zebedee dad aged 93 shat himeself and son got fed up wasnt a good case example

Can sexual infidelity be used as a loss of control trigger?

when can sexual infidelity be used as a loss of control trigger?

when it is paired with another valid element

Example of a valid element and sexual infidelity cross over

R v Clinton

Example where considered desire for revenge can't be used as a defence

R v Ibrams and Gregory

example where jury has to decide whether a similar person of a reasonable character would do the same thing

R v Rejmanski PTSD

what are the 2 types of involuntary manslaughter?

1 - unlawful act manslaughter 2 - gross negligence manslaughter

what is the a tue reus of unlawful act manslaughter?

- d must have committed a crime - the act must be objectively dangerous - the act must cause death

what is the mens rea of unlawful manslaughter

mens rea for the unlawful act - not murder

example of not liable due to crime not being an unlawful act

R v Franklin chucked box off brighton pier and killed woman below not liable as it wasn’t a criminal offence

example to show unlawful manslaughter has to be an act not an omission

R v Lowe forgot to feed his baby

example of dangerous interference with a vehicle being unlawful manslaughter

R v Meeking

Example to show harm doesn’t need to be directed at victim

R v Larkin razor - ex mistress

example to show unlawful manslaughter doesn’t need to be a foreseeable act

R v JM and SM bouncers internal bleeding

what is gross negligence manslasughter?

when duty of care is so bad it leads to death and it is treated as a criminal case

where was the idea of gross negligence established?

R v Adomako oxygen tube

what do you need to show to prove gross negligence manslaughter?

- duty of care between victim and defendant - an act or omission in breach of that duty - which creates a serious and obvious risk of death - actually causes death - whole must amount to gross negligence

what principles were decided in Caparo v Dickman?

1 - harm was reasonably foreseeable 2 - proximity must be close 3 - fair, just and reasonable to impose duty

examples where duty of care is owed

landlord = R v Singh carbon monoxide poisoning ship captain = R v Litchfield diesel in petrol area and boat crashed

example where parents have a duty of care

R v Edwards - kids playing on railway and they got run over

what is gross negligence manslaughter?

when a duty of care is so bad that there is a death and it is treated as a criminal case

Fatal Offences Flashcards

(53 cards)