Homicide

Question 1

What was the traditional definition of murder?
- Who provided it?
- what no longer applies?

Answer 1

• “Murder is when a man of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any country of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the King’s peace, with malice aforethought, either expressed by the party or implied by law, so as the party wounded, or hurt, etc. die of the wound or hurt, etc within a year and a day after the same”
• Coke
• no longer a year and a day

Question 2

What is the modern definition? (AR and MR)

Answer 2

• Actus reus: The unlawful killing of a human being under the King’s peace
• Mens rea: with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm

Question 3

What does unlawful mean?

Answer 3

no valid defences e.g. self-defence

Question 4

What does killing mean?
- cases (2)

Answer 4

• any act or a culpable omission
• omissions only apply where you had a legal duty

• R v Gibbins & Proctor [1919]
• Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993]

Question 5

What does ‘that causes’ mean?

Answer 5

rules of causation

Question 6

What does ‘the death’ mean?
- case (1)

Answer 6

medically dead i.e. brain dead

Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993]

Question 7

What abolished the rule that death must occur within a year and a day?

Answer 7

Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996

Question 8

What is the special circumstance for double jeopardy?
- case (1)

Answer 8

R v Young [2005]

Question 9

What does ‘another human being’ mean?
- cases (2)

Answer 9

• a child must be born alive and have an independent existence from its mother to classify as a human being

R v Poulton [1832]
AG’s Reference (No. 3 of 1994) [1998]

Question 10

What does ‘under the king’s peace’ mean?

Answer 10

not at war

Question 11

What was the MR traditionally called?

Answer 11

‘malice aforethought’

removed by R v Moloney [1985]

Question 12

What is the current MR?

Answer 12

‘with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm’

Question 13

What does s.1 Homicide Act 1957 do?

Answer 13

• abolished constructive malice
  
  • e.g. D killed in the course of committing another crime

Question 14

Is implied malice abolished?
- cases (2)

Answer 14

No

R v Vickers [1987]
DPP v Smith [1961]

Question 15

What is the definition of constructive liability?

Answer 15

a situation where a person is held liable for a crime / consequence that they didn’t directly commit or intend, based on their involvement in a related criminal act

Question 16

What case discusses constructive liability for murder?

Answer 16

R v Powell [1999]