Diminished responsibility

Question 1

What are the attributes of Diminished Responsibility

Answer 1

• one of the two **special defences to murder **(can only be used for murder not other offences like attempted)
• a partial defence so if successful, D is not acquitted but convicted of a lesser crime offence, voluntary manslaughter.
• Burden falls on defence to prove that in the balance of probabilities, D was acting under diminished responsibility.

Question 2

What is Diminished Responsibility under the Homicide Act?

Answer 2

D who kills or is a party of killing of another is not convicted of murder if D was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning, which:

a) arose from a recognised medical condition
b) substantially impaired D’s ability to do one or more of the things and
c) provides an explanation for D’s act and omission in doing or being party to the killing.

Question 3

What is the meaning of abnormality of mental functioning?

Answer 3

• No statutory meaning but R v Byrne says if they had a “state of mind so different from that of ordinary human being that a reasonable man would term it abnormal”

Question 4

Arising from a recognised medical condition?

Answer 4

• this can be diagnosed/undiagnosed as long as it was at the time of killing and that the abnormality must be caused by the recognised mental condition.

Includes Alcohol Dependency Syndrome

Question 5

What is a substantial impairment of D’s ability?

Answer 5

Abnormality of mental functioning must have substantially impaired D’s ability to do one of the things:
- understand nature of D’s conduct
- to form a rational judgement
- to exercise self-control - wide discretion for jury to decide

substantial is held in its ordinary meaning but if jury needs further guidance it means “more than merely trival”

Question 6

What is meant by it provides an explanation for D’s act and omission in doing or being party to the killing?

Answer 6

Abnormality of mental functioning:
* must provide an explanation for D’s act and omission in doing or being party to the killing and
* provide an explanation for D’s conduct if it causes or is a significant contributory factor in causing D to carry out that conduct (does not have to be the only cause)

• an explanation could be pscyhiatrist evidence or even alchohol