Guilty or Not Guilty of Murder? A SelectSmart.com Flowchart by Curt_Anderson To print this page, right mouse click, open "Print preview", "Print" or a similar option depending on your browser, then use the controls to size this page appropriately. Go to SelectSmart.com/flowchart/flowchart.php?id=1002231 for the original version of this flowchart. Find and create other free decision making tools at SelectSmart.com. Use our interactive selectors to find the best college, best career, right religion, most appropriate dog breed, best college major and more.

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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.