1. Although criminal justice requires the correct label to be attached to the defendant’s misconduct, the wide scope of behaviour covered by the Homicide Act 1957 often results in the unfair, and thus harsh, labelling of offenders. This essay will sought to prove that the law of homicide is often too harsh in its assignation of labels to those who cause the death of others, by concentrating on the examples of murder with oblique intent, involuntary manslaughter and the partial defence of infanticide. It will conclude by determining the extent to which the existing law assigns the correct labels to those who commit a homicide, and whether there is thus a need for reform within the law.
Murder with oblique intent
2. Murder is known to be the …show more content…
Professor Ashworth proposes an ideal solution to the discrepancy of conduct under murder, and the often disproportionate sentence that accompanies it. He argues that the judge should have the same discretion to impose lesser sentences as he has for other crimes , because the current inflexibility of the murder sentence results in disproportionate sentencing and thus labelling. However, the objective of accurate classification is entirely within the public interest because offence labelling performs a function of social reinforcement , therefore the current law does not suffice for the needs of society. The scale of D’s mens rea is not currently taken into full consideration – it is merely a requirement that must be satisfied for culpability, regardless of its extent – therefore this societal desire cannot be fully achieved under the strict ‘two-category’ scheme of labelling.
Involuntary manslaughter
6. Not only is the gravity of D’s mens rea not taken into consideration, the wide scope of conduct covered by involuntary manslaughter has also been identified by the Law Commission as a major problem …show more content…
The Court of Appeal highlighted the main issue with using infanticide as a defence in Kai-Whitewind. A mother of three denied killing her youngest child, whom was allegedly conceived in the course of a rape, as a result of her suffering a postpartum psychiatric disorder . This resulted in her being convicted of murder as opposed to the less culpable offence of infanticide. Although it is within the interest of the law to take into consideration the evidence of the mother’s mental instability at the time the offence was committed, it is entirely impossible to do so when she denies responsibility for the murder. It is therefore impossible to found a charge of infanticide without her co-operation at the evidential stage, as demonstrated in
Murder with oblique intent
2. Murder is known to be the …show more content…
Professor Ashworth proposes an ideal solution to the discrepancy of conduct under murder, and the often disproportionate sentence that accompanies it. He argues that the judge should have the same discretion to impose lesser sentences as he has for other crimes , because the current inflexibility of the murder sentence results in disproportionate sentencing and thus labelling. However, the objective of accurate classification is entirely within the public interest because offence labelling performs a function of social reinforcement , therefore the current law does not suffice for the needs of society. The scale of D’s mens rea is not currently taken into full consideration – it is merely a requirement that must be satisfied for culpability, regardless of its extent – therefore this societal desire cannot be fully achieved under the strict ‘two-category’ scheme of labelling.
Involuntary manslaughter
6. Not only is the gravity of D’s mens rea not taken into consideration, the wide scope of conduct covered by involuntary manslaughter has also been identified by the Law Commission as a major problem …show more content…
The Court of Appeal highlighted the main issue with using infanticide as a defence in Kai-Whitewind. A mother of three denied killing her youngest child, whom was allegedly conceived in the course of a rape, as a result of her suffering a postpartum psychiatric disorder . This resulted in her being convicted of murder as opposed to the less culpable offence of infanticide. Although it is within the interest of the law to take into consideration the evidence of the mother’s mental instability at the time the offence was committed, it is entirely impossible to do so when she denies responsibility for the murder. It is therefore impossible to found a charge of infanticide without her co-operation at the evidential stage, as demonstrated in