Definition:

Unlawful killing of a human being under the King’s peace with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).

Elements:

• Actus reus: The defendant’s act or omission caused the victim’s death.

• Mens rea: Intention to kill or cause GBH (R v Vickers [1957]).

Key Principles:

Intention:

• R v Moloney [1985] – Foresight of consequences is evidence of intention but not the same as intention.

• R v Woollin [1999] – A jury may find intention if death or serious injury was a virtual certainty and the defendant appreciated that fact.

• Read the intention section on Mens Rea

Causation: Must prove factual and legal causation between act and death.

Omissions: A failure to act can suffice where a duty exists (R v Gibbins and Proctor [1918]).

Sentence:

Mandatory life imprisonment under Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965.

Voluntary manslaughter applies where the defendant has the mens rea for murder but a partial defence reduces liability. The killing is still unlawful, but the law recognises reduced blame.

(a) Loss of Control (ss.54–55 Coroners and Justice Act 2009)

Replaced the old defence of provocation.

Elements:

• The defendant lost self-control;

• The loss of control had a qualifying trigger (fear of serious violence or things said/done that caused a justifiable sense of being seriously wronged);

• A person of the same sex and age with normal tolerance might have acted similarly.

Cases:

• R v Jewell [2014] – The loss must be more than a mere loss of temper.

• R v Clinton [2012] – Sexual infidelity alone is not a qualifying trigger, but context may matter.

(b) Diminished Responsibility (s.2 Homicide Act 1957 as amended by s.52 Coroners and Justice Act 2009)

Available where a mental condition reduces the defendant’s responsibility.

Elements:

• Abnormality of mental functioning,

• Arising from a recognised medical condition,

• Substantially impairs ability to understand conduct, form rational judgment, or exercise self-control,

• Provides an explanation for the killing.

Cases:

• R v Byrne [1960] – Defined “abnormality of mind.”

• R v Golds [2016] – “Substantial impairment” means something important or weighty.

(c) Suicide Pact (s.4 Homicide Act 1957)

Where two or more people agree to die together and one survives.

Involuntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant causes death without intending to kill or cause GBH. It includes:

(a) Unlawful Act Manslaughter

Death resulting from a dangerous and unlawful act.

Elements:

• The defendant commits an unlawful act (must be a crime, not a civil wrong);

• The act is dangerous (objective test: all sober and reasonable people would see some risk of harm);

• The act causes death.

Cases:

• R v Church [1966] – Set the objective test for danger.

• R v Dawson [1985] – The act must be dangerous in the circumstances known to the defendant.

(b) Gross Negligence Manslaughter

Death caused by a breach of duty of care showing gross negligence.

Elements (from R v Adomako [1994]):

• Duty of care owed to the victim,

• Breach of that duty,

• Breach caused death,

• Breach was so gross as to justify criminal liability.

Cases:

• R v Singh [1999] – Landlord owed a duty to maintain gas appliances safely.

• R v Misra and Srivastava [2004] – Risk of death must be obvious and serious.