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The legal definition of murder comes from Sir Edward Coke: "when a person of sound mind and discretion, unlawfully killeth any reasonable creature in being, and under the king's peace, with malice aforethought either express or implied." The actus reus of murder, therefore consists of the unlawful killing of a human being in the King's peace.
- Introduction
- Facts in Woollin
- Held in Woollin
- Direction in Woollin
Murder is a common law offence. The actus reus elements are an act or omission resulting in the unlawful killing of a reasonable person under the Queen’s peace, and the two alternative mens rea elements are either an intention to kill or an intention to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH) 1. Whilst the actus reas elements are normally easy to establis...
The facts of Woollin10comprised of the defendant throwing his three month old baby to the ground in frustration when it would not stop crying, leading to the baby dying from a fractured skull. The court accepted that the defendant did not intend to cause death or harm to the child but that the defendant foresaw there was a risk of causing serious h...
The Court of Appeal upheld the murder conviction; however upon appeal, the House of Lords overturned the conviction for murder and substituted it for manslaughter, holding that the original trial judge had enlarged the mens rea element for murder by introducing the question of whether the defendant foresaw a substantial risk12. The term ‘substantia...
It has been said that the direction in Woollin20 does not provide a definition of intention and the law still remains slightly unclear21. In Matthews and Elleyne22, Rix LJ stated, ‘we do not regard Woollin as yet reaching or laying down a substantive rule of law’23. The ruling has also been criticised by Kaveny24, who believes the difficulties in e...
DEFINITION. The classic definition of murder is that of Sir Edward Coke (Institutes of the Laws of England, 1797): “Murder is when a man of sound memory, and of the age of discretion, unlawfully killeth within any country of the realm any reasonable creature in rerum natura under the King’s peace, with malice aforethought, either expressed ...
Murder is a common law offence and was defined by Lord Coke in 1797 as an “unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being under the Queen’s peace, with malice aforethought, express or implied”. That definition is still what defines murder today.
Section 9 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 specifies that a person can be convicted of murder or manslaughter regardless of where the offence occurred and the nationality of the victim. The killing was in the Queen’s peace.
In a modern context, section 9 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 provides that where a person is killed, whether or not they are one of the Queen’s subjects, by a subject of the Queen outside of Her jurisdiction - that is anywhere other than England or Wales - they can be tried and convicted in England or Wales.
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Preview text. Law on Murder Lord Coke’s definition- ‘Murder is the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the King’s (or Queen’s) Peace with malice aforethought, express or implied The Actus reus of murder then is that the defendant killed a reasonable creature in being under the King or Queen’s peace’. not ...
