Guilty or Not Guilty of Murder?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is not Murder
|
NO
|
Is there a dead body?
|
YES
|
It could be Murder
|
|
Actus Reus: Factual Causation :
Did the act (or omission) of the defendent cause death in fact? (Following the 'But For' Test)
|
NO
|
It is not Murder
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YES
|
|
|
|
The Defendent is not liable for murder
|
NO
|
Actus Reus:
If the intervening act is an omission, was there a special relationship which made the defendent liable for murder?
|
YES
|
Actus Reus:
Is there an intervening act which might break the chain of causation?
|
YES
|
Actus Reus: Legal Causation:
Was the defendent's act significant enough for legal causation?
|
NO
|
It is not Murder
|
|
|
YES
|
NO
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is not Murder
|
NO
|
The Victim:
Was the victim a 'reasonable creature in being' under Rerum Natura?
|
YES
|
The Victim:
Did the victim have a special condition?
|
YES
|
The Victim:
Even if the victim does have a special condition, it is not relevant under the 'Thin Skull Rule'
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
NO
|
|
|
|
|
The Defendent may not be guilty of murder
|
NO
|
Mens Rea:
Was the death a natural and probable consequence of the defendent's act?
|
NO
|
Mens Rea: Did the Defendent intend to cause GBH?
|
NO
|
Mens Rea:
Did the Defendent intend to kill the Victim?
|
NO
|
Mens Rea:
Did the Defendent intend to kill someone else?
If so, Transferred Malice Applies
|
|
|
YES
|
|
|
YES
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
|
The Defendent may not be guilty of murder
|
NO
|
Mens Rea: Did the Defendent foresee that death was the natural and probable cause of death?
|
| |
|
It could be an example of Murder
|
| |
|
|
|
YES
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
Coinsidence of Mens Rea and Actus Reus: Did the Defendent have the Mens Rea at the moment of the attack?
|
NO
|
Was the attack part of a sequence of events which could be taken together for the purpose of Mens Re and Actus Reus?
|
| |
|
|
|
|
YES
|
YES
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
Defence: Consider what defences are available when considering the above facts.
Check Coke's Definition of Murder to make sure that the evidence suits the defence.
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Guilty or Not Guilty of Murder?
