Criminal Law-Involuntary Manslaughter .
- Assignment on Involuntary manslaughter by abu md. Hossain.
There is no offence of ‘homicide’ as such. A person cannot be charged with or convicted of ‘homicide’. Homicide (Latin: homicidium, Latin: homo human being + Latin: caedere to cut, kill) means the killing of a human being [Irving, Shae, ed (2009) and may be lawful – where, for example, fatal force was necessary to defend oneself. The two most important offences of unlawful homicide are murder and manslaughter. Although both are common law offences, elements of murder and manslaughter have been modified by Acts of Parliament and the penalties for each are statutory.
Until 1957, murder (the more serious of the two offences) was a capital offence – that is, a sentence of death automatically followed conviction. The Homicide Act 1957 drew a distinction between degrees of murder – capital and non-capital murder and provided that non-capital murder was to be punished with a life sentence. The distinction proved unsatisfactory and the death penalty was abolished by the Murder
(Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. All those convicted of murder in England and Wales are now sentenced to life imprisonment. The penalty for manslaughter is at the discretion of the judge, with s.5 of the Offences Against the Person Act providing that the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Murder and manslaughter share a common actus reus – the unlawful killing of a human being. The distinction between the offences is complicated by the fact that there are various forms of manslaughter. Murder and ‘involuntary manslaughter’ differ in terms of the mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind")or fault element required. Murder and ‘voluntary manslaughter’ are distinguished not in terms of mens rea but by the presence of one of three mitigating defences – provocation, diminished responsibility, and suicide pact.
In England and Wales, the incidence of offences of homicide is relatively low. Of the 903,993 violent crimes in England and
There is no offence of ‘homicide’ as such. A person cannot be charged with or convicted of ‘homicide’. Homicide (Latin: homicidium, Latin: homo human being + Latin: caedere to cut, kill) means the killing of a human being [Irving, Shae, ed (2009) and may be lawful – where, for example, fatal force was necessary to defend oneself. The two most important offences of unlawful homicide are murder and manslaughter. Although both are common law offences, elements of murder and manslaughter have been modified by Acts of Parliament and the penalties for each are statutory.
Until 1957, murder (the more serious of the two offences) was a capital offence – that is, a sentence of death automatically followed conviction. The Homicide Act 1957 drew a distinction between degrees of murder – capital and non-capital murder and provided that non-capital murder was to be punished with a life sentence. The distinction proved unsatisfactory and the death penalty was abolished by the Murder
(Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965. All those convicted of murder in England and Wales are now sentenced to life imprisonment. The penalty for manslaughter is at the discretion of the judge, with s.5 of the Offences Against the Person Act providing that the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.
Murder and manslaughter share a common actus reus – the unlawful killing of a human being. The distinction between the offences is complicated by the fact that there are various forms of manslaughter. Murder and ‘involuntary manslaughter’ differ in terms of the mens rea (Latin for "guilty mind")or fault element required. Murder and ‘voluntary manslaughter’ are distinguished not in terms of mens rea but by the presence of one of three mitigating defences – provocation, diminished responsibility, and suicide pact.
In England and Wales, the incidence of offences of homicide is relatively low. Of the 903,993 violent crimes in England and
Bibliography: 1. ^ Gardner, Simon. (1995). "Manslaughter by Gross Negligence" 111 Law Quarterly Review 2. 2. ^ Law Commission Consultation Paper No. 177, A New Homicide Act for England and Wales. 3. ^ Law Commission Report No. 304, Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide. 4. ^ The Offences against the Person Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c.100), section 5; the Criminal Justice Act 1948 (11 & 12 Geo.6 c.58), section 1(1). 5. ^ Criminal Law - Smith & Hogan. 6. ^ University of London’s Online Library.