Law
Fatal Offences
Fatal offences refer to serious crimes that result in the death of a victim. These include murder, manslaughter, and other offenses that lead to fatal consequences. The legal system treats fatal offences with the utmost severity, often carrying significant penalties upon conviction. These crimes are carefully defined and prosecuted to ensure justice for the victims and their families.
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7 Key excerpts on "Fatal Offences"
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Index pages curate the most relevant extracts from our library of academic textbooks. They’ve been created using an in-house natural language model (NLM), each adding context and meaning to key research topics.
eBook - ePubFine Lines and Distinctions
Murder, Manslaughter and the UnLawful Taking of Human Life
- Morris, Terrence, Blom-Cooper, Louis(Authors)
- 2011(Publication Date)
- Waterside Press(Publisher)
The mechanistically repetitive statement that murder, no matter the circumstances of the criminal event, is the most heinous of all crimes, and that it must be sharply distinguished from all other forms of unlawful homicide, is thoroughly discredited. Given the variables in homicidal events and the moral opprobrium attaching to any one individual killer, there is no need in contemporary society to label unlawful killings other than by the rubric of a single crime. This chapter seeks to demonstrate both the variable nature of homicides and the moral responsibility for each case.The traditional (or old) definition of the offence of murder was unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, resulting in the death of the victim within a year and a day (a time-limit that no longer applies). In modern times, the emphasis has invariably focused on the state of mind of the accused (the malice aforethought). It is a common misapprehension among non-lawyers that a person can be convicted of murder only if it is proved that the accused intended to kill; in fact only a minority of people convicted of murder possess that extreme intent. It is sufficient for the prosecution to prove an intention to cause really serious injury. If death ensues, however unexpected, unpremeditated, or lacking in intention to kill, the offence of murder is made out, and the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment must follow. It is thus possible to commit a murder not only without wishing the death of the victim but also without the least thought that this might be the result of the assault. Few people would think that this represents a notion of justice.By contrast, where the accused is charged only with an attempt to murder, it is necessary for the prosecution to prove a specific intent to kill; an intention to cause serious injury will not suffice. The case of Dr Nigel Cox points up the absurd illogicality of the law. Dr Cox was tried and found guilty of the attempted murder of a terminally-ill patient by giving her a an injection which had lethal consequences, for which offence he received a 12-month suspended sentence. Had the prosecution been for murder, it would have been necessary only to show that he intended to cause her serious harm.6
eBook - ePub- Claudia Carr, Maureen Johnson(Authors)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
Chapter 7 Non Fatal Offences against the personLearning Objectives
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:- Appreciate that there are five main non Fatal Offences against the person
- Know that two are common law offences defined by case law and three are statutory offences under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (OAPA 1861)
- Know they are usually used to charge someone who has injured another person
- Understand some of the problems with the law that have arisen due to the age of the OAPA 1861 and the language it contains
- Understand that the law now encompasses 'new' forms of injury such as psychological injury
Introduction
The non Fatal Offences are used to charge someone who has injured another person, but the victim has not died. If a defendant injures another person – even accidentally – who then dies of their injuries, a charge of manslaughter or murder may lie, depending on the state of mind of the defendant. The non Fatal Offences cover a very wide range of actions and consequences, from a raised fist and a threat of violence, to just short of attempted murder (see Chapters 3 and 10 ). At first sight, some of these offences seem to criminalise very trivial behaviour and minor harm. They are offences however because the law takes very seriously any interference with a person’s physical integrity. Everyone has a right not to feel threatened or to be touched against their will. The non Fatal Offences uphold this right, but note that it is not protected by a new statute, but very old common law and a statute from the middle of the nineteenth century!Each of the non Fatal Offences will be looked at individually and its mens rea and actus reus examined. Remember all of the elements of a crime must be present for the crime to be committed, and there must be no defences available to the defendant for a successful prosecution. In the case of non Fatal Offences, a person may well plead self defence as a defence to the criminal charge. For more on self defence, see Chapter 6
eBook - ePub- Gary Slapper, David Kelly(Authors)
- 2009(Publication Date)
- Routledge-Cavendish(Publisher)
Law Commission definitions of intention and recklessness would be adopted. Liability for the transmission of diseases would be restricted to the offence of intentional serious injury, as would liability for an omission. ‘Injury’ would be defined to mean physical injury (including pain, unconsciousness and any other impairment of a person’s physical condition, but excluding anything caused by disease) or mental injury (any impairment of mental health, excluding anything caused by disease). No definition of ‘serious’ injury would be provided.SUMMARY
- The rules of criminal law are derived from both common law and statute, though common law is now much the more significant source.
- As well as by source, crimes may be classified in a number of ways, for instance, according to mode of trial, whether the crime is an arrestable offence, and whether it represents ‘true crime’ or is merely a ‘regulatory’ offence.
- Criminal liability is generally said to require proof of an actus reus, accompanied by mens rea, in the absence of any defence (general or specific, complete or partial).
- Apart from the restriction on criminal liability to those who are at least 10 years of age, it may be possible for an accused to avoid liability by justifying or excusing his conduct, for example by reason of insanity, automatism, intoxication, necessity or duress.
- Offences against the person may be divided into two categories: fatal and non-fatal. Fatal Offences include unlawful homicide, which is comprised of murder and manslaughter. The structure of non-Fatal Offences of assault, battery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and wounding or inflicting/causing grievous bodily harm has been subjected to criticism and proposals for reform.
- Recently, offences involving harassment have been introduced in response to the ‘stalking’ phenomenon.
eBook - ePub- John Hendy, Odette Hutchinson(Authors)
- 2015(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
3Non-Fatal Offences Against the PersonUnderstand the law • Can you define each of the offences in this chapter?• Which offences in this chapter are common law offences, and which are statutory offences outlined in the OAPA 1861 ?Remember the details • Can you remember the actus reus and mens rea of each offence?• Can you define each element of the actus reus and mens rea using case law examples?Reflect critically on areas of debate • Do you understand how consent may operate as a defence to an offence in this chapter?• Can you define intention and recklessness accurately and critically discuss them in relation to case law examples?Contextualise • Can you relate these offences to other areas of criminal law such as sexual offences and homicide?Apply your skills and knowledge • Can you complete the example essay and problem questions provided in each section of this chapter using case law and statutes to support your answer?Chapter Map
Elements Chart
Introduction
In this chapter we are going to consider non-Fatal Offences against the person. This is a popular examination topic in its own right, but issues in relation to non-Fatal Offences against the person can overlap with sexual offences, property offences and homicide against the person. This is another area of the criminal law syllabus in which is it vitally important that you have a solid understanding of because this area of law may be related to a significant proportion of your studies.Aim HigherAs you progress through this chapter, think about how these non-Fatal Offences relate to other criminal offences, such as homicide, sexual offences or property offences. This will help your understanding of these and other offences, and how they interact.In this chapter we will start by considering the least serious offences against the person and at the end we will consider the most serious offences against the person. A traditional classification for non-Fatal Offences against the person is to classify them as ‘simple offences’ and ‘aggravated offences’.
eBook - ePub- Kenny Chin(Author)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge-Cavendish(Publisher)
3 Criminal LawNature of criminal liability What is crime?You should be familiar with the following areas:• various elements in crime• mens rea, actus reus and strict liability• minors in criminal law• definition and specific defences of murder• different forms of manslaughter• definitions and requirements of various assault offences• definitions and requirements of theft and other offences against property• various general defences and their applicationsHalsbury’s Laws of England defines crime as:… an unlawful act or default which is an offence against the public and renders the person guilty of the act or default liable to legal punishment.Two main objectives of criminal law are: (a) to punish and reform the offenders; and (b) to protect the public and individuals from harm which may be caused by the unlawful act or default. Classification of crime The following are three main ways that various offences can be classified: Classification by the method of trialThere are summary, indictable and either way offences. Summary offences are those which are triable in magistrates’ courts only and heard by magistrates. They are usually less serious crimes. Indictable offences are those which can only be tried in the Crown Court, heard by a judge and a jury. The judge deals with issues of law and the jury decides on facts. There are also either-way offences, which can be tried either in magistrates’ courts or the Crown Court. All criminal cases start in magistrates’ courts; therefore, if a case is an either way offence or an indictable offence, there are procedures to decide in which court the matter is to be heard and to transfer the case to the Crown Court. Further details of these procedures are stated in Chapter 9 .Statutory and common law offencesStatutory offences are those crimes that are provided by Acts of Parliament or by delegated legislation. The Act or the regulation normally provides a statutory definition for the offence. All the elements stated in the definition have to be proven before an accused can be convicted. Examples include various offences against property such as theft, robbery, burglary and many others that are provided in the Theft Act 1968 and the Theft Act 1978. Common law offences are those which were created by the common law system, for example, murder. Some crimes can be statutory as well as common law offences, for example, assault and battery. The Offences Against the Person Act 1861 has defined several assault related offences providing different maximum penalties according to the seriousness of the offence. The Act, however, has not abolished the common law assault and battery, which therefore have survived the statute.
eBook - ePub- Routledge(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
This applies where the defendant commits the actus reus of murder, foresaw a risk that the victim would suffer serious injury or death and took that risk. There are other forms of homicide that are outside the scope of this chapter. These include offences by organisations under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and offences specific to motorists (such as causing death by dangerous driving and causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving under the Road Traffic Act 1988). REFORM The Law Commission (2006) advocated comprehensive reform of the law on homicide which proposed that the offence of murder ought to be divided into first degree and second degree murder. First degree murder would be charged only where the defendant intended to kill or intended to do serious injury with an awareness of a risk of causing death. Second degree murder would be charged where the defendant intended to cause serious injury or intended to cause some injury with an awareness of a risk of causing death. Second degree murder would also subsume voluntary manslaughter. Provocation, diminished responsibility and suicide pacts would remain partial defences. Manslaughter would be retained as the equivalent to involuntary manslaughter. Killing through gross negligence, killing through a criminal act intended to cause injury or killing through a criminal act which the defendant was aware involved the risk of injury would fall into this category. SUMMARY You should now be confident that you would be able to tick all of the boxes on the checklist at the beginning of this chapter. To check your knowledge of Fatal Offences why not visit the companion website and take the Multiple Choice Question test. Check your understanding of the terms and vocabulary used in this chapter with the flashcard glossary.
eBook - ePub- (Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- Straightforward Publishing Digital(Publisher)
Criminal law combines a mix of common law rules and Acts of Parliament. Common law rules are rules that have been laid down over time by judges. However Parliament is now the dominating law making assembly. The sources of criminal law are therefore mixed.The crimes of murder and manslaughter provide an example of the interaction between the judiciary and Parliament. Until the middle of this century, until the 1965 Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act, murder was punishable by death. After 1965 the death penalty was suspended except for murder or treason. The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 removed the death penalty for treason and piracy.There is no Act of Parliament that defines murder. This has been developed by the judiciary over the years. Their definition originally stated that death had to occur within a year and a day. In 1996, this definition was abolished with the passing of the Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996.With regard to voluntary manslaughter, this was originally curtailed by the judges. The Homicide Act 1957 then extended it by reducing the charge from murder to manslaughter where the defendant could demonstrate that he or she was suffering from diminished responsibility at the time of the killing, had been provoked or was the survivor of a suicide pact.The classification of offences
Offences can be divided into summary offences and indictable offences. Summary offences are more minor offences and indictable more serious. There is a third category that fits in between the former two, triable either way offences.Summary offences
These offences must first be tried in a Magistrates Court. They are usually always dealt with there and then by magistrates and do not progress to Crown Court. Such cases are: • Speeding and careless driving • Minor criminal damage • Assault and battery • Assaulting a police officer in the course of his duty • Drunken drivingIndictable offences
These are more serious or complicated cases that cannot be decided by magistrates. They will be dealt with by the Crown Court. These offences include:
