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MURDER - Coggle Diagram
MURDER
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The unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being under the King (or Queen's) Peace with malice aforethought
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"Malice aforethought" - mens rea - (direct 'specific' intention) (indirect 'oblique' intention) - express is intention to cause death - implied is intention to cause SBH
Direct Implied - I chose to (took the decision to bring about) seriously harm V
Direct intention means that D “took the decision to bring about the prohibited consequence” [see R v Mohan]. Implied means that D need only to have chosen to bring about serious harm to V in order to be guilty of murder [see R v Vickers]
Indirect Express - I realised that my actions were objectively speaking virtually certain to cause V’s death
Objectively (as seen by the jury), death must have been “virtually certain” [see R v Woolin]. Moreover, subjectively (as seen by D) the defendant must have realised this was the case. Intention is express because D foresaw V’s death as virtually certain.
Direct Express - I chose to (took the decision to bring about) V’s death
Direct intention means that D “took the decision to bring about the prohibited consequence” [see R v Mohan]. Express means that D chose to bring about V’s death specifically.
Indirect Implied - I realised that my actions were objectively speaking virtually certain to cause serious harm to V
Objectively (as seen by the jury), death must have been “virtually certain” [see R v Woolin]. Moreover, subjectively (as seen by D) the defendant must have realised this was the case. Intention is implied because the defendant intended to cause serious bodily harm or greater [see R v Vickers]
CASES
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R v Mohan (direct)
“A decision to bring about, in so far as it lies within the accused’s power [the prohibited consequence], no matter whether the accused desired that consequence of his act or not.”
The defendant’s motive is not important/relevant, it is only important that the defendant decided to bring about the prohibited consequence for there to be direct intention.
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