Attempted murder - Citizendia

Criminal law

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In criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit murder and at the same time having a specific intention to kill. The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which when proved Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result In Western Jurisprudence, concurrence, (or contemporaneity or simultaneity) is the apparent need to prove the simultaneous occurrence In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. In the Criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of Mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to In the Criminal law, recklessness (also called unchariness) is one of the four possible classes of mental state constituting Mens rea (the In the Criminal law, criminal negligence is one of the three general classes of Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" element required Ignorantia juris non excusat or Ignorantia legis neminem excusat ( Latin for " Ignorance of the Law does not excuse" In Criminal law, strict liability is liability for which Mens rea ( Latin for "guilty mind" does not have to be proven in relation In the Criminal law, corporate liability determines the extent to which a Corporation as a fictitious person can be liable for the acts and omissions The legal principle of vicarious liability applies to hold one person liable for the actions of another when engaged in some form of joint or collective activity In Criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person Assault is a Crime of Violence against another person. In some Jurisdictions including Australia and New Zealand, Battery is a term used by the Common law jurisdictions which involves an Injury or other Contact upon the Person of another in a manner likely Robbery is the Crime of seizing Property through Violence or Intimidation. A pimp (also called fleshmonger) finds and manages clients for Prostitutes and engages them in Prostitution (in Brothels in most cases and Rape, also referred to as Sexual assault, is an Assault by a person involving Sexual intercourse with or Sexual penetration of another person In Criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or Asportation of a person against the person's will usually to hold the person in False imprisonment Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Property damage (or in the United Kingdom, criminal damage) is damage to or the destruction of public or private Property, caused either by a In Criminal law, theft (also known as stealing or filching) is the illegal taking of another person's Property without that person's freely-given In English law, the main deception offences are defined in the Theft Act 1968 (TA68 the Theft Act 1978 and the Theft (Amendment Act 1996 The crime of obstruction of justice includes crimes committed by Judges Prosecutors attorneys general, and elected officials in general Bribery, a form of pecuniary corruption is an act usually implying money or gift given that alters the behaviour of the recipient in ways not consistent with the duties of that person Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under Oath or Affirmation in a Malfeasance in office, or official misconduct, is the commission of an Unlawful act done in an official capacity which affects the performance of official duties Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself the actions must go beyond mere preparation In the Criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between Natural persons to break the law at some time in the future and in some cases with at least one overt act An accessory is a person who assists in the commission of a Crime, but who does not actually participate in the commission of the crime as a joint principal For a more detailed discussion of individual topics see Automatism (case law In the Criminal Law, automatism is a defense to liability Intoxication is the state of being affected by one or more psychoactive drugs. A mistake of fact may sometimes offer exculpation (as in Excuse) by allowing a criminal Defendant some relief from liability for having broken the In Criminal trials the insanity defenses are possible defenses by Excuse, an Affirmative defense by which Defendants argue that In Criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by Excuse by which Defendants argue that For English law on the criminal defence see Duress in English law. In Criminal law, necessity may be either a possible justification or an exculpation for breaking the Law. Also see Provocation in English law. In Criminal law, provocation is a possible defense by excuse or exculpation The right of self-defense (also called alter ego defense, defense of others, defense of a third person) is the right for civilians acting on their A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do or refrain from doing an act which is enforceable in a court of law Tort law is the name given to a body of law that creates and provides remedies for civil wrongs that do not arise out of Contractual duties Property law is the area of Law that governs the various forms of Ownership in Real property (land as distinct from personal or movable possessions In Common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the Testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her Property The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of Law which governs the management of personal affairs and the Disposition of Property of The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries In the Criminal law, intention is one of the three general classes of Mens rea necessary to constitute a conventional as opposed to Acting deliberately and intentionally or recklessly with extreme disregard for human life, the person attempts to kill someone, and does something that is a substantial step toward committing the murder. Mere preparation is not a substantial step toward committing a crime. By contrast, unattempted murder goes from the waist down due to major organs and arteries above the waist. The Waist is the part of the abdomen between the Rib cage and hips.

An example of attempted murder is firing a weapon without regard for human life, such as a drive by shooting.

English law

In English law, as an attempt attempted murder falls within the scope of a1(1) Criminal Attempts Act 1981 and is an indictable offense which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment (the same as that for successful murder). English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the Attempt crimes are crimes where the defendant's actions have the form of the actual enaction of the crime itself the actions must go beyond mere preparation In many Common law Jurisdictions (eg the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, United States, India, Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime often for most

The mens rea (Latin for the "guilty mind") for murder includes an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm where there is a high probability of death resulting, whereas attempted murder depends on an intention to kill, and an overt act towards the homicide. In Criminal law, mens rea the Latin term for "guilty mind" is usually one of the necessary elements of a Crime. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a phrase used in English Criminal law which was introduced in sections 18 and 20 Probability is the likelihood or chance that something is the case or will happen Attempted murder is only the planning of a murder and acts taken towards it, not the actual killing, which is the murder. This makes the offense difficult to prove and it is more common for a lesser charge to be preferred under the Offenses Against The Person Act 1861.

However, in R v Morrison [2003] 1 WLR1859, the Court of Appeal considered the issue of alternative verdicts on an indictment with a single count of attempted murder. The Court of Appeal of England and Wales is the second most senior court in the English legal system, with only the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords above A lesser included offense, in Criminal law, is a crime for which all of the elements necessary to impose Liability are also elements found in a more serious crime Morrison had gone into a shop with two other men on a robbery with a firearm. They demanded money and one of the men shot at the shopkeeper who suffered only minor injury. The prosecution had many opportunities to add other counts before the trial but failed to act. Having heard the case, the judge expressed his view that the jury could consider an attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH) under s18 OAP and Morrison was duly convicted of attempted GBH. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm (often abbreviated to GBH) is a phrase used in English Criminal law which was introduced in sections 18 and 20 The CA confirmed that attempted GBH is a valid alternative to attempted murder because there can be no intention to kill someone without the intention also to cause GBH.

This is a practical decision to ensure that the criminal justice system did not allow a guilty person to walk away because only one charge had been preferred. But it is not necessarily a good general principle because, in euthanasia for example, a person assisting intends to cause death, but with no suffering. Euthanasia (literally "good death" in Ancient Greek) refers to the practice of ending a life in a painless manner That attempting to cause GBH must be an alternative verdict should the intended "victim" not die would be a strange outcome because there is no intention to cause any long-lasting and serious injury: the two attempted offenses have different mens rea requirements so that proof of intent to murder would not necessarily meet the requirement for s18 OAP.

Proof of mens rea

There must be more than merely preparatory acts and, although the defendant may threaten death, this may not provide convincing evidence of an intention to kill unless the words are accompanied by relevant action, e. The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e g. finding and picking up a weapon, and making serious use of it, or making a serious and sustained physical attack without a weapon.

Attempted murder requires evidence of an intention to kill, unlike murder, which requires an intention to kill or cause grievous bodily harm. This makes it a difficult allegation to sustain and careful consideration must be given to whether on the facts a more appropriate charge would be section 18 (Shooting or attempting to shoot, or wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm. ) Offenses Against the Person Act 1861. Another possible charge may be Section 16, Offenses Against the Person Act 1861 making threats to kill. See: Guidance on other relevant offenses.

The courts will pay particular attention to counts of attempted murder and justifiably will be highly critical of any such count unless there is clear evidence of an intention to kill. Attempted murder is an offense of specific intent.

When considering the choice of charge, prosecutors should consider what alternative verdicts may be open to a jury on an allegation of attempted murder. In Law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a Jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge A jury a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial Verdict (a finding of fact on a question officially submitted to them Section 6(3) Criminal Law Act 1967 applies. In R v Morrison (2003) 1 W. L. R. 1859, on a single count of attempted murder, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge had been right to leave to the jury an alternative count of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, because a defendant could not intend to kill without also intending to cause grievous bodily harm. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law If an alternative count can be left to the jury, prosecutors should not normally add it to the indictment, but should draw to the attention of counsel that the alternative count may be available. See: Alternative Verdicts. the actus rea The actions of the defendant must be more than merely preparatory; although words and threats may provide prima facie evidence of an intention to kill, there may be doubt as to whether they were uttered seriously or were mere bravado. Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning "on its first appearance" or "by first instance"

Evidence of the following factors may help to prove the intention to kill:

calculated planning
selection and use of a deadly weapon
threats (subject to paragraph (vi) above)
severity or duration of attack; intentionally discharging weapon toward witness
relevant admissions in interview.

English law

Proof of mens rea

See also