 Pair up with another student to go through the comments you wrote about things you did and didn’t feel confident about when discussing DR  See if you can come to an agreement about the correct answer

Murder Evaluation of the Law

 The Law Commission 2006 report 'Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide'. “The law governing homicide in England and Wales is a rickety structure set upon shaky foundations.“

 Many of the problems stem from that fact that murder is a common law offence  Definition was given by Lord Coke in the 18 th Century

Lack of cohesion - a common-law offence developed through decisions in many cases over long periods of time - led to uncertainty and ambiguities, which required further cases to settle - essential to have a clear definition of murder, as it is the most serious of criminal offences

Problems with mens rea: intention “Doubly misleading expression”- Lord Mustill Cases such as Maloney, Nedrick and Woollin highlight the difficulties that the courts have faced in establishing the meaning of intention, and even today there is still no clear definition. This means juries may make different decisions in cases with similar facts- justice?

 Is it fair to give the sentence for murder when only serious harm was intended?  Causing death is a different moral issue  Vickers

Problems with mens rea: Woollin test - High level of responsibility for the jury - Defendant’s mind may have been on a different outcome- are they as morally to blame? Does this extend the meaning of murder too far? - Is it fair to give a life sentence in these cases? Hancock and Shankland- They claimed their only intention was to block the road

 Mandatory sentence wad laid down by the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965  Two reasons for this mandatory sentence:  Murder is the most serious crime so deserves the highest penalty  Appeased those who opposed the abolition of the death penalty for murder

Life sentence - does not allow judges the flexibility to pass sentences appropriate to the circumstances of the case. This is the only reason why the specific defences are necessary Same life sentence for a cold blooded serial killer (Fred West/ Peter Sutcliffe) as a mercy killer (although likely to have a different tariff)

 Usually a tariff is attached  If prisoner has been given a whole life sentence with no possibility of parole then this was held to breach ECHR- however the Court of Appeal ruled that this power did not breach the ECHR and could remain

 Use the iPads to find a case an individual who has been wrongly convicted of murder  Must be a British case  Take some notes on the case and be ready to report back  You cannot have the same case study as anyone sitting next to you

 Self defence  All or nothing defence  Question of what is reasonable? ▪ See Clegg and Martin  All depends on the opinion of the jury

Reform The Law Commission proposed a new Homicide Act. - would encompass all of the elements of homicide – murder, voluntary manslaughter and involuntary manslaughter - offences should be defined according to a ‘ladder principle’ or hierarchy, which reflects the seriousness of the various offences.

Reform Murder would be divided into ‘first-degree’ and ‘second-degree’ categories: First-degree murder - intended to kill - mandatory life sentence. Second-degree murder - discretionary life sentence and would apply to defendants who: - killed while intending to commit serious harm - were ‘recklessly indifferent’ to causing death - rely on loss of control, diminished responsibility or duress The new Act should also include a clear definition of the mens rea required for murder – particularly regarding intention.

Reform -Or if not a ladder system then the more simple reform: remove the mandatory nature of the life sentence -These suggestions have not yet been acted upon

 Get into teams  Each team has a buzzer  I will show you an answer, you need to buzz in with the question which has that answer  2 marks for a correct answer, -1 for incorrect/ no answer after buzzing in

If the answer is: Lord Coke The question could be: Who gave the definition for murder?

Murder, Manslaughter and Infanticide

18 th century

Maloney, Nedrick and Woollin

12 members, need to be over 18

Mandatory life

Vickers

Acquittal or mandatory life sentence

The 4 th gun shot

Article 5 of the ECHR

On a farm

A new Homicide Act

intended to kill - mandatory life sentence

Nothing

Striking miners

Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965