Murder + Manslaughter

Question 1

What is the definition of Murder?

Answer 1

The unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being under the queens peace with malice aforethought express or implied

Question 2

What is the case of Re A?

Answer 2

Conjoined twins, twin A was only capable of living when separate but twin B was not, it was lawful to separate twin B so twin A could live, therefore not murder

Question 3

What is the case of R v Clegg

Answer 3

Soldier at Northern Ireland checkpoint. A car sped towards him and he shouted for it to stop, the car then turned around at the last second and he shot at it killing a passenger, he couldn’t argue that his life was in danger as a result the force was excessive

Question 4

What is the case of Vickers?

Answer 4

Defendant broke into sweet shop knowing the old lady who ran it was deaf and would not hear him, he saw her coming down the stairs and hit her repeatedly, although he didn’t intend to kill, he intended to cause her serious harm, therefore there was sufficient malice aforethought

Question 5

What is the definition for diminished responsibility?

Answer 5

A person who kills or is party to a killing of another is not convicted of murder if he was suffering from an abnormality if mental functioning which:
A) Arose from a recognised medical condition
B) Substantially impaired D’s ability to:
- understand the nature of his conduct
- Form a rational judgement
- Exercise self control
C) Provides an explanation for D’s acts and omissions in doing or being a party to the killing

Question 6

What is the case R v Byrne?

Answer 6

D was a psychopath with sexual urges he was ‘unable to control’ he murdered a young woman and then mutilated her body. Because he had a state of mind so abnormal he was charged with voluntary manslaughter, not murder (diminished responsibility)

Question 7

What case shows that the defendant has to be a person?

Answer 7

White - he put poison in his mother’s milk and she had a few sips and went to sleep, she never woke up but it was determined she died from a heart attack, therefore it’s not murder because she was already dead

Question 8

What case outlines that you cannot murder a foetus?

Answer 8

Attorney Generals reference number 3 1997-
Stabbed his pregnant girlfriend who went into premature labour, the baby was born and died a few months later but he isn’t liable murder

Question 9

What case outlines unlawful killing?

Answer 9

Malcharek - turning off a life support machine isn’t murder, it’s lawful

Question 10

What does the case of Wood outline?

Answer 10

D had been drinking and went to V’s flat. D fell asleep and woke up to V trying to perform oral sex on him. D hit V with a meat cleaver and killed him, it was established D was an addict but not clear whether this had damaged his brain. He was found guilty but appealed as drinking was partly involuntary

Question 11

What does the case Tandy outline?

Answer 11

That alcohol addiction must show injury to the mind, D was a long term alcoholic and her ex husband had molested her daughter so she strangled her daughter. Could not prove that alcohol had injured her mind

Question 12

What is the definition of loss of control?

Answer 12

A) Defendants acts or omissions in doing or being a party to the killing resulted from defendants loss of self control
B) The loss of self control had a qualifying trigger
C) A person or defendants age and sex with a normal degree of tolerance and self restraint and in the circumstances of the defendant, might have reacted in a similar way

Question 13

What is a slow burning case?

Answer 13

Ahluwalia - defendant was in an abusive relationship for many years being threatened that if she didn’t pay the bill she would get more violence. Poured petrol over him and set him alight when sleeping. Convicted of murder as response was not sudden enough

Question 14

Where are the qualifying triggers for loss of control?

Answer 14

Fear of violence - Ahluwalia (petrol)

Things said it done - Doughty (killed baby as it wouldn’t stop crying)

Question 15

What are the excluding triggers for loss of control?

Answer 15

Infidelity

Revenge

Question 16

Outline 2 revenge cases

Answer 16

Ibrams and Gregory - ex boyfriend terrorising girl, new boyfriend and friend, planned an attack and killed him 5 days after police ignored them, revenge as 5 days passed and it was planned

Baillie - Son threatened by drug dealer, dad took a razor and a shotgun and killed the drug dealer, shows that revenge can still be a factor if loss of control is shown

Question 17

What cases relate to the circumstances of the defendant?

Answer 17

Hill - Sexually abused as a child, someone tried to again so he lashed out and killed him, take his history into account
Camplin - 15 year old boy was mocked by an older man who sexually abused him, he lashed out with a pan and killed him, murder changed to manslaughter as age should be considered

Question 18

What are the 2 reforms for diminished responsibility?

Answer 18

Burden of proof - burden of proof being placed on the defendant is unfair and can be argued that it breaches the principle of innocent until proven guilty

Development immaturity - place in the brain that controls the self control and discipline isn’t fully developed till 14. So people as young as 10 who are clearly not fully developed to be guilty of manslaughter rather than murder

Question 19

What are the 4 elements for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 19

• The defendant must do an unlawful act
• The act must be objectively dangerous
• The act must cause death
• The defendant must have the required mens rea for the unlawful act

Question 20

What case outlines that there must be a criminal unlawful act?

Answer 20

Lamb - 2 friends were messing around with a revolver and one got shot in the head. No assault so no manslaughter as the friend didn’t fear any violence

Question 21

What case shows the act doesn’t need to be aimed at the victim?

Answer 21

Larkin - D threatened another man with a cut throat razor, a drunk mistress tried to intervene and fell into the razor, cut her throat and died, guilty of manslaughter

Question 22

What does the case of Newbury and Jones outline?

Answer 22

• Two teenage boys who pushed a paving stone from a bridge onto a railway line as a train was approaching and killed the guard. That the defendant need only to have the intention to do the unlawful act. There is no need for the defendant to foresee that it might cause some harm

Question 23

What cases show that the unlawful act must lead directly to death?

Answer 23

Cato - D and V injected each other with heroin and water solutions, V died and because D injected V, charged with unlawful act manslaughter
Dalby - D supplied drugs to V who self administered then and died, chain of causation broke as the D only supplied and didn’t inject, therefore it was quashed

Question 24

What is gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 24

Where the D owes the V a duty of care but breaches that duty in a very negligent way, causing the death of the victim

Question 25

What is the leading case on gross negligence manslaughter?

Answer 25

Adomako - anaesthetist who during an operation didn’t notice that one of the tubes supplying oxygen to the patient became disconnected. Patient suffered a heart attack by lack of oxygen, died from brain damage 6 months later. A competent anaesthetist would have noticed the disconnection within 15 seconds and that failure to react was ‘abysmal’, guilty of gross negligence manslaughter

Question 26

What cases show a contractual duty to the victims?

Answer 26

Singh - faulty gas fire caused the death of tenants, duty to maintain and manage property

Litchfield - Master of a ship, sailed knowing engines might fail due to contamination of fuel, ship was blown onto rocks and 3 crew members died. Owed a duty to the crew

Question 27

What case shows the defendant owes a duty because of a relationship with the victim?

Answer 27

Stone and Dobinson - Stones sister was mentally slow and anorexic and barely able to look after herself. She became bedridden and neither D summoned medical help and the sister eventually died from malnutrition. The duty was to help her or call for help, failure to do this meant they are guilty of manslaughter

Question 28

What are the reforms for unlawful act manslaughter?

Answer 28

Three tier structure:

• first degree
• second degree
• manslaughter

Under these proposals, manslaughter would cover:
1) Killing another person through gross negligence

2) Killing another person -
a) through the commission of a criminal act intended by the defendant to cause injury

b) through the commission of a criminal act that the defendant was aware involved in a serious risk of causing some injury

The second category would only be a subjective test and would prevent the defendant being convicted where they did not intend any injury and were unaware of the risk of injury