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Unlawful Act Manslaughter (Dangerousness (This test from Church us used:…
Unlawful Act Manslaughter
Definition
D commits an unlawful act which is dangerous and causes death
Unlawful Act
D must commit a crime otherwise he cannot be liable for the death
(Slingsby)
Lamb:
when D fired the gun at his friend there was no assault as they were fooling around. Without an unlawful act, D could not be guilty of manslaughter
Ds act must be positive, an omission is not sufficient
(Lowe)
Khan & Khan:
Ds not liable for manslaughter when they failed to get help for V after she had injected herself with heroin they had provided
Dangerousness
The unlawful act must be dangerous
This test from Church us used: the unlawful act is dangerous if the sober & reasonable man recognises it subjects another to the risk of some harm
The test is objective so D himself does not need to realise the risk of harm
The level of harm foreseen does not have to be specific or serious
(JM & SM)
The act does not have to be aimed at V
(Mitchell)
and can even be aimed at property
(Goodfellow)
Ds act will only be dangerous if the reasonable man would be aware of the risk
This can be seen in situations involving burglary, which is not normally regarded as dangerous
Bristow, Dunn & Delay:
following the burglary at Vs workshop he was found dead, having most likely been hit by a vehicle used by Ds to commit the burglary due to the location of the workshop. Because of the specific circumstances of the burglary, it was dangerous
The risk of harm can include shock (but not emotional disturbance) as long as the reasonable man would be aware of it
Dawson:
V died of a heart attack following a robbery but as the reasonable man would not be aware of the risk it was not dangerous
Watson:
V died of a heart attack following a burglary at his house. V was very old, fail man. D was guilty as the reasonable man would be aware of the risk of shock
Causing death
FC:
but for Ds unlawful act V would not have died
(Pagett)
LC:
D’s unlawful act contributes to the death in a more than minimal way
(Kimsey)
An intervening act can break the chain and mean D cannot be guilty
If D supplies V with drugs and also injects V with it, then the chain is not broken
(Cato)
If D supplies V with drugs but V injects himself then Vs act breaks the chain
(Dalby, Kennedy)
Mens Rea
D only needs the mens rea for the unlawful act
D does not need any mens rea for V’s death
D does not need to realise the act is unlawful or dangerous