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Murder |
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The classic definition of murder is |
"Murder is when a man of
sound memory and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any
county of the realm any reasonable creature in
rerum natura
under the king's peace, with malice aforethought, either expressed by
the party or implied by law….."
"(...so that the wounded party shall die
of the wound or hurt, (within a year and a day of the same)."
This last sentence removed by
The Law
Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996
17th Century rule - Coke's Institutes.
Even today, murder is still a common law offence, the offence not
enacted by parliament. |
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The Law Reform
(Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996
3
years after attack |
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If the 'cause' of death occurs more than 3
years before the victim died or
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D has already been convicted of some other
offence (e.g. grievous bodily harm) in relation to the acts that caused
the death the consent of the Attorney General must be secured before
prosecution can be brought. Otherwise, the normal rules of causation
apply.
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Committed anywhere |
British citizen can be tried in a British court for murder or manslaughter
committed anywhere in the world: Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
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Only one punishment for murder |
The
Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1964, says that a person
convicted of murder must be sentenced to life
imprisonment.
"Sentenced" to life
does not mean "serve" a sentence of imprisonment for the rest of their
life.
In practice, most
are released after 10 - 15 years "on licence" which means they can be
recalled to prison for a many reasons.
So, part of the life sentence is served
in prison, and the remainder served not in prison.
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Death during sporting games. |
Sportsmen indulging in their sporting past times consent to those
inevitable injuries that occur as a result of contact sports.
R v Bruce (1847) established that a murder charge would
result if the death were caused by above average violence in the 'game' or
non-adherence to the rules of the game.
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Euthanasia is murder. |
The mercy killing of a terminally ill patient does not provide any
defence, no matter how compassionate. Doctors who kill are murderers.
Cox, R v
(1992) Winchester Crown Court, Ognall J
.
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Double Effect |
They may be immune from liability if the treatment is to ease pain but
incidentally accelerates death, as shown by the
Annie Lindsell case 1997.
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