Complete Criminal Law Notes
Criminal Law 2
Homicide
1. Murder
a. Actus
i. Act or omission must have caused the death (s 18(1)(a) CA)
b. Mens
i. No punishment shall be incurred by person who kills by misfortune only (s 18(2)(b)) ii. Intention to kill or inflict GBH(s 18(1)(a))
1. Requirement that D has actual awareness of consequences of actions (Aiton)
2. Subjective test: Conscious purpose, decision not desire (Hyam)
3. Foresight of certainty (Woollin)
4. Knowledge of chance of consequences fulfils malice requirement (Coleman); transferred malice (intent to kill some1 else)
5. "Grievous bodily harm" includes(s 4):
(a) the destruction of foetus, whether or not the woman suffers any other harm, and
(b) any permanent or serious disfiguring of the person, and
(c) any grievous bodily disease (causing a person to contract a grievous bodily disease).
iii. Reckless indifference to human life(s 18(1)(a))
1. Act or omission must be malicious and without lawful cause/excuse (s 18(2)(a))
2. ProbabilityNOT possibility of death or GBH required(Crabbe)
a. Probability = likely, a real and substantial risk (Boughey), in that it could well have happened as a result of the act (Darkan)
b. Not indifference as to consequences; but knowledge that those consequences will probably occur
c. Not a remote chance (Annakin)
3. Wilful blindness has no role to play in murder, the question is if D had actual knowledge or foresight of the probability of death/GBH, imputed knowledge is not enough (Crabbe) – subjective test!
4. Reckless indifference to GBH and not death issue amounts to manslaughter rather than murder (Solomon) iv. So long as one of the mental states for murder was present, irrelevant that the accursed did not intend the precise way in which death actually occurred (Royall)
c. Penalty
i. Life imprisonment (s 19A(1)); natural life (s 19A(2))
1. If court is satisfied that level of culpability is so extreme that community interest in retribution, punishment, community
Homicide
1. Murder
a. Actus
i. Act or omission must have caused the death (s 18(1)(a) CA)
b. Mens
i. No punishment shall be incurred by person who kills by misfortune only (s 18(2)(b)) ii. Intention to kill or inflict GBH(s 18(1)(a))
1. Requirement that D has actual awareness of consequences of actions (Aiton)
2. Subjective test: Conscious purpose, decision not desire (Hyam)
3. Foresight of certainty (Woollin)
4. Knowledge of chance of consequences fulfils malice requirement (Coleman); transferred malice (intent to kill some1 else)
5. "Grievous bodily harm" includes(s 4):
(a) the destruction of foetus, whether or not the woman suffers any other harm, and
(b) any permanent or serious disfiguring of the person, and
(c) any grievous bodily disease (causing a person to contract a grievous bodily disease).
iii. Reckless indifference to human life(s 18(1)(a))
1. Act or omission must be malicious and without lawful cause/excuse (s 18(2)(a))
2. ProbabilityNOT possibility of death or GBH required(Crabbe)
a. Probability = likely, a real and substantial risk (Boughey), in that it could well have happened as a result of the act (Darkan)
b. Not indifference as to consequences; but knowledge that those consequences will probably occur
c. Not a remote chance (Annakin)
3. Wilful blindness has no role to play in murder, the question is if D had actual knowledge or foresight of the probability of death/GBH, imputed knowledge is not enough (Crabbe) – subjective test!
4. Reckless indifference to GBH and not death issue amounts to manslaughter rather than murder (Solomon) iv. So long as one of the mental states for murder was present, irrelevant that the accursed did not intend the precise way in which death actually occurred (Royall)
c. Penalty
i. Life imprisonment (s 19A(1)); natural life (s 19A(2))
1. If court is satisfied that level of culpability is so extreme that community interest in retribution, punishment, community