What is Murder? Easy Guide to Common Law and Criminal Terms

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Lilian

27/10/2022

Law

Murder

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Law

What is Murder? Easy Guide to Common Law and Criminal Terms

The legal definition of murder under common law encompasses unlawful killing with malice aforethought, requiring specific elements of both physical and mental components for conviction.

Key aspects include:

Murder constitutes an unlawful killing requiring both actus reus and mens rea
A mandatory life sentence applies to all murder convictions
The offense requires proof of malice aforethought, either express or implied
The victim must be a living human being under the protection of law
Causation must be established between the defendant's actions and death

27/10/2022

UNE DO NOT D
MURDER
Murder
-Murder is The unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the
kings (or Queens) peace with malice

Understanding the Legal Framework of Murder

The fundamental concept of murder is established through Lord John Coke's classic definition, emphasizing the elements of actus reus in murder cases and mental state requirements.

Definition: Murder is defined as "the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the kings $or Queens$ peace with malice aforethought, express or implied."

Highlight: Murder carries a mandatory life sentence and is classified as a common law offense rather than a statutory one.

The actus reus $physical elements$ of murder comprises several essential components:

The defendant must cause death through action or omission
The victim must be a reasonable creature in being
The killing must occur under the queen's peace
The act must be unlawful

Example: In the case of Attorney-General's Reference $No3 of 1994$ $1997$ , it was established that a foetus is not considered a 'reasonable person in being', and therefore its death cannot constitute murder.

Vocabulary: 'Reasonable creature in being' refers specifically to a living human being with independent existence from the mother.

The case law demonstrates important principles:

Malcherek 1981 addressed the complexities of determining death in medical contexts
Causation must be both factual and legal
No intervening acts should break the chain of causation

Highlight: Understanding malice aforethought in criminal law is crucial, as it encompasses both express intention to kill and implied intention to cause grievous bodily harm.

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Subjects

Law

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100

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27 Oct 2022

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2 pages

What is Murder? Easy Guide to Common Law and Criminal Terms

Lilian

@liliantum_hhqc

The legal definition of murder under common law encompasses unlawful killing with malice aforethought, requiring specific elements of both physical and mental components for conviction.

Key aspects include:

Murder constitutes an unlawful killing requiring both actus reus and mens rea... Show more

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Understanding the Legal Framework of Murder

The fundamental concept of murder is established through Lord John Coke's classic definition, emphasizing the elements of actus reus in murder cases and mental state requirements.

Definition: Murder is defined as "the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the kings $or Queens$ peace with malice aforethought, express or implied."

Highlight: Murder carries a mandatory life sentence and is classified as a common law offense rather than a statutory one.

The actus reus $physical elements$ of murder comprises several essential components:

The defendant must cause death through action or omission
The victim must be a reasonable creature in being
The killing must occur under the queen's peace
The act must be unlawful

Example: In the case of Attorney-General's Reference $No3 of 1994$ $1997$ , it was established that a foetus is not considered a 'reasonable person in being', and therefore its death cannot constitute murder.

Vocabulary: 'Reasonable creature in being' refers specifically to a living human being with independent existence from the mother.

The case law demonstrates important principles:

Malcherek 1981 addressed the complexities of determining death in medical contexts
Causation must be both factual and legal
No intervening acts should break the chain of causation

Highlight: Understanding malice aforethought in criminal law is crucial, as it encompasses both express intention to kill and implied intention to cause grievous bodily harm.

Sign up to see the contentIt's free!

Access to all documents

Improve your grades

Join milions of students

By signing up you accept Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Understanding Murder in Criminal Law

This comprehensive section explores the fundamental aspects of murder under common law. The content examines both the physical and mental elements required for a murder conviction.

Definition: Murder is defined as "the unlawful killing of a reasonable person in being and under the kings $or Queens$ peace with malice aforethought, express or implied" as established by Lord John Coke.

Highlight: Murder carries a mandatory life sentence and is classified as a common law offense rather than a statutory one.

The actus reus $physical elements$ of murder consists of several key components:

Vocabulary: Actus Reus refers to the physical elements that must be proven:

The defendant must have caused death through action or omission
The victim must be a reasonable creature in being
The killing must occur under the queen's peace
The act must be unlawful

Example: In the case of Attorney-General's Reference $No3 of 1994$ $1997$ , it was established that a homicide offense cannot be charged for the killing of a foetus, as the child must have an independent existence from the mother.

The mens rea $mental element$ encompasses two types of malice aforethought:

Vocabulary: Mens Rea involves:

Express malice aforethought: direct intention to kill
Implied malice aforethought: intention to cause grievous bodily harm $GBH$

Example: The Malcherek 1981 case provides important context regarding brain death determination in murder cases, where doctors had conducted multiple but not all brain death tests.

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