MANSLAUGHTER IN ENGLISH LAW

Manslaughter in English law



Manslaughter in English law

For a discussion of the law in other countries, see manslaughterIn the English law of homicide, manslaughter is a less serious offence than murder with the law differentiating between levels of fault based on the mens rea (Latin for a "guilty mind"). Manslaughter may be either:

Voluntary where the accused intentionally kills another but is not liable for murder either because he or she falls within the scope of a mitigatory defence such as provocation or diminished responsibility that will reduce what would otherwise have been murder to manslaughter, or because he or she was the survivor of a suicide pact (s2(4) Homicide Act 1957).

Involuntary which occurs when the accused did not intend to cause death or serious injury but caused the death of another through recklessness or criminal negligence. For these purposes, recklessness is defined as a wanton disregard for the dangers of a particular situation. An example of this would be dropping a brick off a bridge, which lands on a person's head, killing him. Since the intent is not to kill the victim, but simply to drop the brick, the mens rea required for murder does not exist because the act is not aimed at any one person. But if in dropping the brick, there is a good chance of injuring someone, the person who drops it will be reckless. This form of manslaughter is usually dealt with as an "unlawful act manslaughter" or "constructive manslaughter".

Voluntary Manslaughter

Voluntary manslaughter occurs when the defendant kills with malice aforethought (intention to kill or cause really serious harm), but there are mitigating circumstances which reduce his culpability. The traditional mitigating factor was provocation, however others were added by the Homicide Act 1957. The Homicide Act provides three defences which may be raised to allow the court to find the accused guilty of voluntary manslaughter: diminished responsibility, provocation and suicide pact.

Diminished Responsibility

Under s 2 Homicide Act 1957 there are three requirements for the defendant to raise the defence of diminished responsibility. The defendant must have suffered from an abnormality of mind at the time of the killing caused by one of the causes specified by the Act which substantially impaired the defendant's mental responsibility for the killing. Under s2(2) of the Act it is for the defendant to prove he suffered from such a condition on the balance of probabilities.

Abnormality of mind

An abnormality of mind has been defined by Lord Parker CJ as 'as state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings that the reasonable man would term it abnormal'. In deciding whether this state of mind exists the jury should consider medical evidence, but also all other evidence including acts and statements of the accused and his demeanour. The jury does not have to accept the medical evidence if other material conflicts with and outweighs it.

Specified causes

The Homicide Act specifies three causes one of which must cause the abnormality; they are a condition of arrested or retarded development of mind, ...