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Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter Class Notes
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Murder and Voluntary Manslaughter Second Year Criminal Law Notes
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Topic 4- Murder & Voluntary ManslaughterFatal Offences: Homicide murder or manslaughter? if manslaughter, is it voluntary or
involuntary?
Murder
• Common law offence
The classic definition of murder is that of Sir Edward Coke (Institutes of the Laws of England, 1797):
• Murder is when a man of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within
any county of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the King's peace, with
malice aforethought
Actus Reus of Murder- The unlawful killing of another person under the Queens peace
Who can commit murder?- ‘A man of sound memory and of the age of discretion’ (10 years or
older)
Unlawful- If D can rely on the defence of self-defence then he has not killed unlawfully – R v
Beckford [1988] AC 130
Killing- Must be shown that D caused the death of V – law on causation will have to be applied
Law Reform (Year and One Day Rule) Act, 1996
• If death occurs after 3 years of unlawful act- seek Attorney Generals permission to pursue
murder charge
R v Young [2005] EWCA Crim 2963
• D charged with intention GBH & found guilty of murder
• Victim was in persistent vegetative state and died after some time
• D charged with murder
• D argued breach of double jeopardy principle (cannot be charged for same offence twice)
• New facts- victim had now died- so murder charge could be pursued
Who can be the Victim- ‘any reasonable creature in rerum natura’
Two issues arise here:
(1) when does life begin
(2) when does life end?
When does life begin?
Violence to the foetus which causes its death in utero is not murder. It may however constitute either
the offence of:
, • Child Destruction – Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929- if pregnancy 24 weeks, fetus is
capable of being born alive
• Criminal Abortion - Offences Against the Person Act 1861, section 58- to have an abortion,
have to fit within framework of this act
Enoch (1830) 5 C & P 539- The question is whether the child has an existence independent of its
mother thus human being so full protection of criminal law
R v Poulton (1832) 5 C & P 329
• Umbilical cord does not have to have been cut and child does not need to have taken first
breach
Violence to the foetus which results in death after birth (i.e. child is born alive but dies due to the
injuries sustained while in the womb) may amount to murder or manslaughter:
A-Gs Reference (no 3 of 1994) [1998] AC 245
• Recognised that D could have been charged with manslaughter but was not
When does life end?
Malcherek and Steel [1981] 1 WLR 690: the law accepts the medical definition of death – which is
‘brain death’
Accelerating Death
• Every killing is merely an acceleration of death - R v Dyson [1908] 2 KB 454: victim was dying
of meningitis when injured; murder still applicable
Administering pain relieving drugs which also hasten death
R v Adams - see Palmer’s case note [1957] Crim LR 365
• Certain drugs used to treat people e.g. morphine – comes a point where level of morphine
somebody is given can become a cause of death (indirect intention)
• So must show medicine is proper and necessary to relieve pain and suffering
Devlin J insisted that there was no special defence for doctors. He went on to state:
• If life were cut short by weeks or months it was just as much murder as if it were cut short by
years. … But that does not mean that a doctor aiding the sick or dying has to calculate in
minutes or hours, or perhaps in days or weeks, the effect on a patient’s life of the medicines
which he administers. If the first purpose of medicine – the restoration of health – can no
longer be achieved, there is still much for the doctor to do, and he is entitled to do all that is
proper and necessary to relieve pain and suffering even if measures he takes may incidentally
shorten life
, Other cases seem to suggest that there is a special defence for doctors BUT
• Norrie (see [2006] Crim LR 486 at 500) argues that the lawfulness of the doctor’s actions was
resolved in these cases not as a matter of defence but as a matter of mens rea e.g.
Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821
• Victim of Hilsborough disaster
• Suggestion of special defence for doctors in these circumstances
R v Moor Newcastle Crown Court 11 May 1999
• If D’s purpose is proper medical treatment (pain relief) his purpose is not to kill and he
should be acquitted even though he realises that death is a virtually certain consequence of
the treatment.
Killing to relieve pain
R v Cox 12 BMLR 38
• Doctor falls on wrong side of line
• Doctor treating patient for number of years, patient expressed wish to die
• Doctor administered some potassium chloride and woman died shortly after
• Potassium Chloride has no medicinal benefit; so clear this was being given with primary
purpose to bring about death
• Cox found guilty of attempted murder due to lack of evidence around cause of death
Inglis [2010] EWCA Crim 2637
• Son was very badly injured; permanent vegetated state
• Mother was convinced son would not want to remain like this
• SO mother administered dose of heroin to son to end his suffering through killing him
• Court recognised loving mother – ‘mercy killing’ but is still murder under English Law
R (Nicklinson) and another v Ministry of Justice and Others [2014] UKSC 38
• Assisted suicide: require assistance to administer fatal dosage to end life
• Criminal law- assisted suicide is murder despite that they want to die
Under the Queen’s peace
• Simply means that the killing of enemy aliens during war and under battle conditions is not a
criminal homicide
The Mens Rea of Murder
• Known as ‘malice aforethought’
MUST SHOW:
Malice aforethought essentially means that the defendant unlawfully intended to:
• Kill another human being (express malice); or
• Cause grievous bodily harm to another human being (implied malice)
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