when will a defendant be convicted of voluntary manslaughter?
they are charged with murder and admit to performing the actus reus of murder but they successfully plead one of four partial, special defences, which reduces their liability to manslaughter
what are the four partial “special” defences?
loss of control
diminished responsibility
suicide pact
infanticide
to be able to use the defence of loss of control what must the defendant be able to show?
Section 54 CJA 2009
- they experienced a loss of control
- which must have been caused by a qualifying trigger
- that a person of the defendant’s age and gender, with a normal degree of tolerance and self-restraint, might have acted in the same way in the same circumstances
what are the requirements for a loss of control?
must have completely lost control
doesn’t matter if a reasonable person would have lost control
must not be able to restrain themselves
does not need to be sudden
what are the qualifying triggers?
S54 CJA 2009
fear trigger
anger trigger
when is the fear trigger present?
when the defendant fears being subjected to serious violence. the fear will be subjectively assessed
must be shown that the defendant’s fear was direct at another identified person (not a general fear)
when does the anger trigger apply?
when a defendant’s loss of control is attributable to things that are said or done which amount to an extremely grave character, and cause the defendant to have a justifiable sense of having been seriously wronged
assessed objectively
what are the requirements/restrictions for the anger trigger?
words alone may be enough to satisfy it
conduct that provoked the anger does not have to be directed at the defendant themselves
extremely grave - high standard
S55(6)(c) - acts pertaining to sexual infidelity will not count as a qualifying trigger
what are the requirements to satisfy diminished responsibility?
defendant will not be convicted of murder if:
- they are suffering from a mental abnormality, which arises from a recognised medical condition
- this substantially impaired their ability to understand the nature of their conduct, form a rational judgement, or exercise self-control, and
- this explains their acts/omissions that led to the death of the victim
what is the leading authority on abnormality of mental functioning?
R v Byrne
“a state of mind so different from that of ordinary human beings that a reasonable man would term it abnormal”
requirements for it being a recognised medical condition?
self-induced intoxication generally cannot serve as a basis for diminished responsibility
if the defendant is an alcoholic they may be able to argue that it has caused their abnormality of the mind
